Purpose: This assignment assesses the students basic knowledge of operations and IS/IT management principles, techniques and applications.

Requirements:

1. The individual assignment is a comparative case (cross-case) analysis of a regional supermarket chain (Choppies) and any one (1) of the five major South African supermarket chains that competes in some of the same regional African markets (Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar, Woolworths, Massmart).

2. Your analysis should:

A. Be based on the following case materials:

The Expansion of Choppies in Africa (case study, available on Ulwazi)

Choppies Group corporate website (https://choppiesgroup.com) plus Choppies country websites

Corporate websites and other information sources for the South African competitor (provide full references for all your sources)

B. Start with an executive summary which distils all the key elements of the report (one page maximum).

C. Include a high-level corporate comparison of Choppies and the South African competitor.

D. Assess the overall relative strengths and weaknesses of Choppies and the South African supermarket chain with respect to operations and supply chain management.

E. Compare the two firms using the following operations management frameworks:

The 4 Ds model

4 Vs

Generic operations performance objectives (including trade-offs)

Core operational capabilities

Supply network design

Layout and flow design (based on common or typical stores)

F. End with a conclusion explaining the main insights derived from your case analysis. Your conclusion should also outline any particular areas where there is insufficient available information to make definitive comparisons, the key assumptions you made to facilitate analysis, and any specific issues or questions that particularly warrant further investigation.

WBS case study: Attached Choppies - The Expansion of Choppies into Africa (WBS-2016-5).pdf

Submission:

Students should prepare and submit a written case analysis electronically on Ulwazi (12 point font size, 1.5 line spacing; maximum 5 pages, including all references and exhibits, but excluding the one-page executive summary).

PLEASE NOTE:

You must clearly and explicitly cite and list all your sources, following the WBS / APA referencing guidelines.

Any pages above the maximum page limit will not be marked.

Submission deadlines (no late submissions will be accepted):

Marks will be allocated as follows:

Individual Assignment Criterion

%

High-level comparison of Choppies and the South African supermarket chain

10

Overall assessment of relative strengths and weaknesses of Choppies and South African supermarket chain in operations and supply chain management

10

Comparative analysis of operations management in Choppies and the South African supermarket chain (using the six given frameworks)

60

Conclusion including: key insights, key information gaps, key assumptions, key issues/questions for further investigation

10

Presentation: executive summary, language, structure, formatting, referencing, exhibits, etc.

10

TOTAL

100