Assignment

Sales and operations issues and how they might be prevented or mitigated by Supply Chain professionals.

This activity will challenge you to apply the concepts of Sales and Operations Planning in a supply chain. The environment is more complex due to the pandemic and globalization in the last 20 years.

Activity Instructions:

Select a recent article or headline from the media, conduct research and discuss a strategy of how the sales and operations planning could have been conducted.

In your initial post: mention the event, how have the supply chain issues impacted sales and what was the result. How will the supply chain issues impact sales in the 4th quarter? Do you forsee consumers changing their buying patterns?

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As an example, see below.

Global wheat supply-chain issues due to war

Problem : Global supply issues related to the pandemic and war in Ukraine have highlighted yet another global vulnerability - food availability. Many countries depend on trade to fulfill their food needs. Further, the global wheat trade is concentrated in a handful of countries whereby disruption in only a few countries would have global impact

Cause :War in Ukraine,combined with supply chain issues, have contributed to price increases in cereal grains and food prices globally, but especially in the Global South where countries rely on cereal imports. This area encompasses Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the developing countries in Asia, including the Middle East.

Furthermore, researchers found that having more agricultural land does not necessarily translate to higher levels of national nourishment. Agriculturally rich areas are difficult to seek if the country's soil and climatic conditions are different.

Researchers used international wheat trade data to reconstruct the global trade network and identify the most influential countries. They found that countries most central to the global grain trade account for more than half of all wheat exports globally by volume: Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, Russia, the United States and Canada.

Effect: This makes the global wheat value chain vulnerable, as a shock to one of these countries is likely to propagate across the globe. Developing countries are having a 40% shortage in wheat and many other common staples.

Solution: Countries can start stocking grains for future prevention of shortfall. They can promote agricultural activities within the country and can depend less on imports from other countries.

References : https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627141448.htm