Assessment 1

• Write a 600–800 word management report about the supply chain of an apparel retailer, based on a library article.

This assessment focuses on the supply chain management process, its importance to the success of a company, and the sequence of events and processes that bring products from manufacturers to consumers.

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By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Design a supply chain to support an organizational strategy. o Explain why a company's supply chain strategy is successful.o Describe the importance of a company's fast response and information infrastructure.• Competency 3: Manage a supply chain in order to satisfy customers. o Describe how a company's unique replenishment strategy satisfies customers.• Competency 4: Communicate in a professional manner that is consistent with the expectations for supply chain managers and participants. o Exhibit proficiency in writing, critical thinking, and academic integrity by appropriately attributing sources• Questions to Consider 

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

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• What are the implications of a successful supply chain management strategy to a business in today's competitive global economy?• How can a supply chain help a company reach its strategic goals?• Why do many companies choose to contract with third-party logistics companies?• What are components of a successful supply chain?• Zara is the flagship brand for Europe's fastest growing apparel retailer and has about 1500 stores in major cities around the globe.

For this assessment, consider that you work as a manager in Zara's corporate organization. Zara’s leadership team is considering changes in their supply chain management practices, and your manager asked you to prepare a report that analyzes their current practices as input to their decision-making process. Your report will be reviewed by the overall leadership team. After conducting some research on the topic, you identified a highly useful resource, which is a summary of Zara’s supply chain management practices provided in the Harvard Business Review article, "Rapid Fire Fulfillment," (linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading). Your manager agreed with you about that resource being highly useful, and the two of you further agreed that your report should address the following key questions as items Zara's leadership team will be interested in:

• Analyze and explain why the company's supply chain strategy is successful. As part of that, examine the effect of  the selection and management of suppliers and determination of information needs and systems.• Analyze the importance of the company's fast response and information infrastructure as related to the company's supply chain strategy. For example, what advantage does Zara gain against the competition by having a very responsive supply chain? What information infrastructure does Zara need in order to operate its production, distribution, and fast fashion retail network effectively?• Analyze how the company's unique replenishment strategy satisfies customers. For example, what advantage does the company gain from replenishing its stores multiple times a week compared to a less frequent schedule? How does the frequency of replenishment affect the improved customer satisfaction?• What information infrastructure does Zara need in order to operate its production, distribution, and fast fashion retail network effectively?

Based on a leadership team audience, your report should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. Target 600–800 words. Attributing sources in your professional and academic work supports your analysis and conclusions and demonstrates ethical behavior and academic honesty. Following APA rules for attributing sources provides consistency and ensures that readers can locate original sources if desired.

Academic Integrity and APA Formatting

As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:

5. When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.6. When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page.