PROJECT MANAGEMENT ( XYZ, a project driven organization, manages a portfolio of large and small projects and each project has a clear link to the organization's mission and strategic value. These multiple competing projects lead to the problem of interdependence and inefficient utilization of organization's resources.Consequently, it has become difficult to decide which project to allocate resources on priority as all the project managers are looking for the best resources for their projects. Requirement: In the light of above scenario, if you are a project manager, write why is it crucial to understand organizational strategy for implementation through projects? Give your stance with two logical reasoning. On December 31,2018, Khalid Iqbal, the country logistics manager at one of the leading tea brands in Pakistan, Lahore Tea Pvt. Ltd had received notice that one of the organization's oldest transporters would terminate its services. This transporter had worked with the organization for more than a decade. Lahore Tea established two plants in Kotri and Hattar. The plant at Kotri covers the Karachi to Khanewal, and the Hattar factory covers the sales regions of Islamabad and Lahore, including the country's northern areas. The imported raw material was stored at a warehouse in Kotri and transported to the Hattar factory by road for blending and packaging as needed. Lahore Tea covers almost the whole of the country by using the services of local and national transporters because it has distribution centres in different cities of Pakistan. As tea is a precious item and is always under threat from hijackers, the organization used reliable transport services of full truckload (FTL) and less than truckload (LTL) to distribute products country-wide. The organization had two country-level transporters for product distribution and a policy of engaging two transporters to avoid monopoly. One of them, known as Faraz transport company, provided both services of FTL and LTL. The vehicles of Faraz transport company were available the whole year and even on national or religious holidays, regardless of the market social and political conditions for Lahore Tea especially. The owner of this organization had strong geopolitical influence and his approach to government officials. The disadvantage of this transport company was that it had no technology advantage, had classic trucks, and had non-professional employees. Although Lahore Tea had a strong payment policy. The accounts department had established a standard payment procedure of issuing cheques to the transporters within 15 days of receiving their invoices. Transport companies are also instructed to submit their invoices on a fortnightly basis to be paid within the next 15 days. The CEO was a signatory authority, and the problem was that he was often out of the country to meet with the suppliers and expand the business and humanitarian activities. Which caused the delay in payments. Due to a delay in payment and poor responses from the staff of Lahore Tea's logistics department, the Faraz transport company's owner decided to terminate the contract as per the terms and conditions of the contract for FTL services. When he tried to meet with the CEO to discuss unsettled invoices for the last three months, there was no positive response from the logistics team, but they told him that the CEO was not in the office every time. Certain transport companies in the market provide highly advanced and latest vehicles with complete safety and security, which could handle situations such as fires, accidents and medical emergencies. They also have the facilities of live tracking and GPS and can monitor various activities. The business of this organization was expanding quickly and could soon require an expert in logistics to design its routes and plan better. The organization is in the process of implementing an enterprise resource planning system that helps track trucks only if the trucks are equipped with a GPS tracking system. The CEO discussed the situation with the head of the supply chain, Mr Khalid, and he decided that they would need either to negotiate a new agreement with the transporter or to find an alternate transporter within the time mentioned in the notice. They did not want to risk having their product unavailable in the market as this would adversely affect sales and result in lost customers. Question: 01 As a supply chain manager, what would you recommend Mr Khalid do in this situation? Negotiate with Faraz transport company or search for an alternate transporter from the local market. Why? Question: 02 Analyze and evaluate Lahore Tea current logistics design