This page is related to [[Logistics Management]] ====== Assignment 2 ====== ===== No Pain Corp ===== Omar Amman, the CEO of No Pain Corp (NPC), is under stress. They produce transcutaneus electrical nerve simulation units (TENS) for pain control. Amman faces a new opportunity and is not sure how to go about it. Recently, the the Department of Health of Canada has approved low current TENS devices to be sold directly to consumers without a doctor’s note. This will come into effect in three months. In the past, one needed a doctor’s note and could rent the device from some companies. These TENS machines, as they are called in Canada, are popular, since the older population has found them to be effective in pain control with almost no side effects. Amman can sell the device via drug-stores and pharmacies as well as on Amazon. But, Amman is not sure. Amman used to work as a supply chain manager for a power-tool company. Back then, it was a huge logistical “pain,” no pun intended, to work with large retailers and to attend to their fulfilment needs. Those retailers used to ask for small, frequent shipments to many locations. They needed a fast service, and they needed it to be faster and faster each time. If that was not hard enough, they needed RFID tags, shipping notifications in advance, inventory visibility, and on and on. They wanted deep volume discount and they were selling the same items for a marked-up price several times over. Amman didn’t want any of those headaches for NPC. He wanted a healthy profit margin for NPC, and believed that his customers would have received great discounts were NPC to directly deal with them via an e-commerce sales model. NPC needed a good online shop, easy to use, an ongoing and effective marketing campaign, and a best-in-class fulfilment capability if NPC wanted to compete with the herd of global TENS manufacturers who would flood Amazon and eBay in a few months. NPC has already designed and is producing three different models of the TENS machine in Hamilton, Ontario. Next to the production plant, NPC holds its inventory in its own distribution centre (DC). Everything is ready to go. As of now, NPC ships only to the companies who sell or rent medical devices. Amman believes that with a little bit of work, the same DC can be used to fulfil a global customer-base too. Amman asks everyone to come to a meeting to discuss a possible plan for their e-commerce model. He also is interested in their opinions regarding the fulfilment strategies. The supply chain management team at NPC agrees that a direct-to-customer approach is the best way to go forward, perhaps the only way. They came up with three alternatives to serve the Canadian market (at least for now): * Option 1: Upgrade the Hamilton DC to serve as a fulfilment centre for the new customer orders * Option 2: Build a few new fulfilment centres to complement the Hamilton DC/fulfilment centre; perhaps one in Calgary, and another one in BC * Option 3: Find a capable 3PL for their fulfilment centre and focus on demand planning, manufacturing, and marketing as their own core competencies Amman needs to evaluate these three options and figure out which way is the best for NPC to go. The board of directors are going to ask him about his recommendation and he needs to be ready. ===== Questions ===== - Customer service: which option will provide the best level of customer service? Why? Compare and contrast - Cost: which option will provide NPC with the most economically reasonable option? Why? Compare and contrast - Amman needs to analyse functional and cost trade-offs for each option. What are those trade-offs? - Future success: which option will give NPC the best opportunity in the long run? Why? Explain in details ====== Your checklist before you submit ====== ++++Pre-flight checklist | * Black and White text only (no coloured-text) * No cover image * Cover page: * course name; * assignment number and title; * instructor’s name; * student’s First and Last name; * student number; * date; and * word-count (see the next item). * Paper’s length range: min 500, max 700 words, excluding the covers, TOC, repeated questions, block-quotes, and the bibliography (no out-of-range paper) * Answer all four questions in detailed paragraphs (no one-liners; detailed explanations are needed) * Write in complete sentences * Use headings and subheadings * Subheading numbers must correspond to the question numbers * Citations: APA format, [[https://caul-cbua.pressbooks.pub/acadintegritycbu/chapter/citing-in-text-apa/|in-text citations]], and [[https://caul-cbua.pressbooks.pub/acadintegritycbu/chapter/reference-list-basic-book/|a reference list or bibliography]] * Page numbers ++++ ====== Written Report Marking Scheme ====== ++++The marking scheme | ^ Criteria ^ Marks ^ | Cover-page includes assignment title, instructor’s name, course & assignment name, student’s first and last name, student number, date, subheading numbers correspond to the questions, and word count. | 2 | | Response to Q1 | 12 | | Response to Q2 | 12 | | Response to Q3 | 7 | | Response to Q4 | 5 | | Extensive, valid, library research from reliable sources in addition to the textbook (‘Google search’ is not a source, no Wikipedia articles. [[https://sophy.ca/scm/wiki/reference|Read this for more info.]]) | 4 | | APA style [[https://caul-cbua.pressbooks.pub/acadintegritycbu/chapter/citing-in-text-apa/|in-text citations]], APA style [[https://caul-cbua.pressbooks.pub/acadintegritycbu/chapter/reference-list-basic-book/|reference list or bibliography]], correct format/structure followed | 4 | | Correct spelling / proper grammar | 4 | | TOTAL POSSIBLE MARKS | 50 | | ANY form of plagiarism is unacceptable ([[https://sophy.ca/scm/wiki/plagiarism|read this]]). Maximum amount of quotes in your paper must not exceed 10%. Violations will be reported to the campus director immediately. | -50 | | Late submission (penalty; mark deduction per day) | -10% | ++++ ====== Submitting Your Written Assignment ====== * Share a digital copy of your final paper with me via Google Docs (use my gmail address) * No late-submission will be accepted. Day 5 is the last day for this assignment (there will be a penalty for late submissions)