Table of Contents

Question 1 (25 Marks)

Critically discuss the impact on Supply Chain Management to cater to the
evolving Consumer Experience demands.

Question 2 (25 Marks)

Evaluate the links between the physical world and the virtual world and how
they are shortening, which also renders some links in the supply chain to be
less relevant than they once were.

Question 3 (25 Marks)

Evaluate how challenges will require companies to adapt and modify their
supply chains to maintain profitability in this more complicated world.

Question 4 (25 Marks)

Evaluate how the IoT (Internet of Things) and big data will assist the entire
supply chain to become more adaptive in terms of dynamic decision-making
and optimising their resources.

1
Question 1

Introduction

Things have been evolving at an ever-increasing rate in recent years due to

the introduction of Industry 4.0 technology to the value chain. There are
SCMS systems, AI-powered advanced analytics, and IoT sensors where there
were formerly information silos, spreadsheets, and clipboards. There are
CSOs (chief supply chain officers) who represent the interests of the entire
firm, as opposed to being the domain of autonomous managers operating in
the best interests of their particular divisions. And with that change has come
a renewed realization that the interests of the client and the corporation are
typically one and the same.

Faster delivery times, production-on-demand, and instantly accessible order

status updates are just a few of the consumer demands that have been
primarily fueled by the growth of the internet and its capacity to offer such
quick feedback. In other words, people desire to know more the more they
already know. There are numerous ways up and down the value chain that
the manufacturing industry (and other B2C businesses as well) are being
impacted by the rise in consumer information literacy and the easy access to
information. We've compiled seven key ways these shifting consumer
demands are affecting the supply chain, both favorably and unfavorably.

Since the general public has rapid access to the most cutting-edge
technology, they have grown to anticipate nothing less from the companies
that provide their services. In other words, if your rival has systems in place
that notify clients of production delays, present shipping options, and enable
them to get in touch with support immediately, guess where those clients will
be doing business? To stay up with consumer technology use, that pressure
is causing the quick adoption of cutting-edge emerging technology.

More advanced technology is enabling greater transparency across the whole

supply chain. If your consumers ask for visibility into their orders, you must

2
make sure that everyone in the chain has access to the same information so
that everyone is on the same page. Consumers want to know when their
order starts production, goes to shipment, gets loaded on a boat, arrives at
port, etc., all the way up until it lands at their receiving dock. Industry 4.0
innovations like IoT factory sensors, intelligent pallets, and RFID inventory
tracking are all paving the road for full supply chain visibility.

Customers have grown accustomed to expecting everything to be delivered

quickly because to the availability of next-day delivery on e-commerce
websites. That covers anything from business orders to items made abroad,
as well as everything in between. It is obvious that precise demand
forecasting is necessary. You can make sure you have the necessary quantity
on hand, in the appropriate location, and at the appropriate time for prompt
delivery by being able to pro-actively balance inventory among several sites.
Once more, Industry 4.0 technology is enabling this through AI-driven
enhanced analytics. Regardless of the season or location of the order,
predictive analytics may help you make decisions and enable quicker order
fulfillment.

With improvements in technologies like 3-D printing, additive production

techniques are becoming more widely used. A highly efficient production line
has also been made possible by the integration of IoT sensors on production
equipment and the associated analytics that enable prescriptive maintenance
to be carried out while reducing downtime. And it's beneficial for your bottom
line since having a well-oiled production line that can meet demand makes it
much simpler to satisfy consumers' need for rapid satisfaction.

The unpredictable nature of demand changes can appear to the

inexperienced eye. That's when those advanced analytics come into play,
smoothing things out and helping you see what's on the order horizon.
Customers don't perceive their purchasing behavior as irregular at all, which
makes it challenging for even the greatest AI to be correct every time. Here
comes supply chain adaptability. You're putting your entire value chain on the
road to success by implementing the Industry 4.0 technologies highlighted.

3
You are better prepared to withstand changes in demand and other
interruptions thanks to smart monitoring software, RFID tags that pinpoint the
exact geolocation of every order, and smart pallets that warn you of
atmospheric conditions. Also, your supply chain will be better able to adjust
based on demand in order to keep customers happy.

The number of businesses that have shifted to a direct-to-consumer sales

model has primarily made that possible. Some businesses have chosen to
create their own online stores where customers can place purchases for
delivery straight to their door, cutting out all middlemen. This new industry
standard is a result of consumers' conditioning to anticipate instant
gratification from their purchasing experiences. From the manufacturing
perspective, combining DTC shipping with additive manufacturing techniques
can greatly benefit operations and the bottom line because the costs of
excess inventory storage, yearly increases in shipping costs, and retooling
between production runs can all be significantly reduced, if not completely
eliminated.

Conclusion

The consumer is the most important figure in the supply chain, because their
wants and opinions influence the supplier's decisions. Retailers, shippers, and
businesses are all modifying their business models as a result of the clients
they serve.

4
Question 2

Introduction

The sheer potential of the metaverse is increasing as innovators combine the

use of technology with innovative thought. The technology around the
metaverse, which includes Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR),
combines aspects of both digital and physical environments. This virtual
environment, however, is accessible via game consoles, cellphones, laptops,
and other digital devices, not just AR and VR gadgets.

The digital economy has other advantages, such as the ability for customers
to make, purchase, and exchange items. The metaverse's combination of
entertainment, eCommerce, gaming, and social alters consumer behavior and
creates new opportunities for commerce enterprises.

In eCommerce, the metaverse can combine the best of a retail experience

and customer service with the ability to buy from home. The multifaceted
capability of combining products, communicating their attributes, responding
to any queries in real-time before making a purchase, and remaining at home
will significantly alter consumer purchasing behaviors.

Consider a customer who is trying to buy a new car online. Instead of visiting
multiple websites to view brands and models online via videos, photographs,
or text, the metaverse may provide the same experience in a 3D immersive
reality. It is a world in which customers can visit digital stores, engage with
store staff, and immediately interact with the (digital) car they want before
purchasing.

The metaverse has the potential to revolutionize digital connectivity, having a

profound impact on eConsumer behaviors, processes, and structures. We
already know that the human mind exhibits the same emotional experiences
and emotions in VR/AR as it does in real life, thus it is not surprising to see
big corporations build digital stores for specific lines. Retail clothing, for

5
example, is generating a lot of buzz and already has millions of daily users on
the various metaverse sites.

The metaverse has the potential to offer entirely new Supply Chain
experiences in a digital world that we have never seen before.

The majority of top Supply Chains are undergoing digital transformations of

various aspects of their organizations. Would the move to digital products and
experiences reduce the importance of the Supply Chain as we know it?
Conversely, will the metaverse offer doors to new opportunities and new
potential?

The metaverse is a cutting-edge technology that works from the bottom up.
Whereas the goal of digital operations is to digitally enhance the physical
Supply Chain, the goal of the metaverse is to create a digital realm and
translate it into the physical world. The metaverse can improve numerous
Supply Chain sectors and considerations:

The metaverse has the potential to increase communication across all Supply
Chain tiers, both internally and outside. Improved connectivity potential allows
for a direct collaborative approach with suppliers to alter manufacturing costs
and simplify and speed synchronization up the value chain. This connectivity
will make the whole supply chain visible and responsive, allowing suppliers
and buyers to conduct crystal clear and efficient cost discussions.

Co-managed margins for production faults will lead to better-quality products

and services and lower customer return rates with broad collaboration and
more in-depth production-optimized methods.

Businesses can gain more capabilities while minimizing quality control

expenditures and the need to visit vendor sites for inspection and approval.

Even for international Supply Chain management pros, global supply

networks are complex and difficult to comprehend. Stakeholders, employees,

6
investors, and customers are currently demanding greater transparency into
where raw materials are procured and who and where components are
created and completed. Companies want to know about the environmental
and collateral impact of the Supply Chains with whom they do business.

With 3D representations of how manufacturers build, deliver, and advertise

things, the metaverse will improve Supply Chain transparency. Lead times,
real-time shipping prices, and transit time delays become more visible to
interested parties. The Supply Chain's confidence, trust, and efficiency will
increase as a result of this transparency and visibility.

Customers will have easier access to 3D visualization and virtual tools thanks
to the metaverse, which will improve accountability and transparency. This will
boost inventiveness and accelerate mass customisation possibilities (i.e.
personalized items). It will also make digital product replication easier,
allowing manufacturing processes and facilities to optimize resource
allocation across locations along the Supply Chain and supporting the
operation of alternate production scenarios.

This is expected to reduce downtime and increase the acceptance of

alternatives and quick changeovers in the plant, minimizing interruption of
physical manufacturing facilities. Furthermore, it will have a far-reaching
impact on the effect of meeting customer demands for individualized items,
allowing their manufacturing to take place cost-effectively in traditional
facilities currently geared for mass production.

The metaverse is an excellent collective area for collaboration and idea

sharing. Within and outside business shareholders will find it simple to
collaborate on new product blueprints, share these ideas with manufacturers
in the same setting, and receive rapid feedback. This will shorten the product
lifecycle for new products and accelerate the creation of practical designs,
allowing for faster, more responsive, and intelligent planning.

7
Because of the metaverse's endless collaboration opportunities, every
participant, from workers to logistics teams, will be able to consider
sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues via
intelligent planning tools. Before the actual form is developed, warehouse
planning can be enhanced, experienced, and simulated in the metaverse,
saving time and money from concept to reality. This will result in more efficient
warehouse designs and more pleasant working environments.

When municipal governments and local organizations embrace meta

technology, they can evaluate and back up new strategies and propositions in
the metaverse in order to reproduce a final version to their files for
accountability and ongoing learning.

The metaverse will provide a practical setting in which strategic operator

training can take place without interfering with daily operations. Before
investing large CapEx dollars, any warehouse flow can be checked and
adjustments outlined. Better space efficiency through active space modeling,
as well as higher position and shelving optimization as the volume of SKUs
grows, will result in further benefits. While optimization and slotting are always
vital, they are becoming increasingly important as the trend toward smaller
and even micro-fulfillment centers, where storage capacity is most valuable,
continues.

Conclusion

Many edge technologies will emerge and progress in the coming years,
resulting in an escalation of new ideas and approaches (but only if they
improve the customer and user experiences). The metaverse's obvious
powers provide enormous benefits and uses. The metaverse, for example, will
be at the core of senior Supply Chain leadership choices, enabling new
planning approaches, expedited virtual experimentation, and accelerated time
to market for future items.

8
Question 3

Introduction

Supply chains have always been prone to interruption. Despite being

accurately referred to as the "plumbing of global commerce," supply chains
have received little attention in the past.

Unprecedented occurrences like the COVID-19 outbreak and the ongoing

turmoil in Ukraine have once again highlighted the vulnerabilities of global
supply chains.

Customer needs that are constantly expanding and changing have added to
the current supply chain management issues.

Global supply networks have been hampered by unexpected demand and

limited logistics capacity. The following are the major issues in supply chain
management:

Increasing supply chain risks: Growing supply chain risks are mostly caused
by market volatility. Changes in consumer demand, trade conflicts, raw
material shortages, climate change, harsher environmental rules, economic
uncertainty and policy changes, industrial unrest, and other factors all
contribute to supply chain risks and problems.

Unexpected delays: Because global supply chains inevitably include long

distances and several phases, they are prone to delays. Extended lead times
for goods leave shipments vulnerable to unanticipated delays.

Cost control: Raw material, energy, freight, and labor costs have risen
globally. Businesses must strengthen cost control to ensure uninterrupted
production and the continuous delivery of high-quality items at competitive
prices.

9
Cooperation and data syncing across the supply chain: Access to supply
chain data is critical for efficient supply chain management. Data
management is a major difficulty in supply chain management due to the large
number of data points in global supply chains.

Rising freight prices: As energy prices have risen, so has demand for
container transportation. Container transport demand increased as a result of
the pandemic's e-commerce rise.

Difficulty estimating demand: The pandemic and the resulting supply chain
disruption made demand forecasting difficult, if not impossible, to estimate
numbers for manufacture and inventories to be stocked.

Digital transformation is required to improve supply chain operations by

implementing technology such as IoT, AI, drones, and robotics. The
fundamental problem of supply chain management, however, is integrating
these technologies into existing supply chain operations.

Due to the epidemic, freight loading and unloading activities were hampered,
producing port congestion. As a result, dispatches and delivery were delayed.

Recent supply chain issues have prompted firms of all sizes to rethink their
operating strategy in order to maintain strong bottom lines and retain their
customer base.

Facing a world of continual unpredictability, Labor shortages are among the

fundamental difficulties that global supply networks must face.
The consequences of global delays and the availability of equipment

Approaches to Tackle the Key Supply Chain Management Issues Include:

Processes should be automated: Increasing automation will aid in the balance

of inventory, warehousing expenses, and consumer demand. Forecasting

10
automation helps optimize inventory, reduce overhead costs, and eliminates
the possibility of stockouts and inventory shortages.

Collaboration with peers in the industry: With the complexity of today's supply
chain, old techniques of operation with excel spreadsheets will not suffice. To
keep the supply chain moving, ongoing and continual engagement with
industry peers, vendors, regulators, manufacturers, financiers, and logistics
teams is required. These collaborations will be possible and simple thanks to
software solutions that include automated permissions, alarms, information-
rich dashboards, and real-time updates.

Obtain end-to-end process visibility: In order to properly monitor supply chain

operations, you must have end-to-end process visibility, from raw material
acquisition from suppliers to delivery to clients. This can be accomplished by
using data logging to follow and monitor the supply chain. The examination of
the data gathered allows for effective process control.

Conclusion
An agile and resilient supply chain is essential. Yet, resilience and agility
cannot be built into a supply chain unless its design, implementation, and
operation are carefully considered. This necessitates a shift in mentality, the
use of cutting-edge technology and tools, and the inclusion of risk and agility
KPIs alongside the standard cost, quality, and service levels.

11
Question 4

Introduction

Modern improvements in information technology have resulted in significant

shifts in global production. This essay focuses on the theoretical and practical
problems and opportunities posed by the Internet of Things (IoT), which
enables new ways of supply-chain operations based in part on big data
analytics and changes in the structure of industries. The IoT's operating
principle and its implications for big-data analytics on supply chain operational
performance, particularly with regard to the dynamics of operational
coordination and optimization for supply chains using big data obtained from
smart connected products (SCPs), as well as the governance mechanism of
big-data sharing, will be revealed.

The growing deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) is causing significant

shifts in global manufacturing and corporate competition (Porter and
Heppelmann, 2014, Porter and Heppelmann, 2015). As a result, according to
MIIT (2015), "the deep integration of next-generation information technology
and manufacturing is triggering far-reaching industrial changes, establishing
new production modes, industrial forms, business models, and economic
growth spots." In fact, a lot of countries throughout the world have formed
strategies to develop IoT and Industry 4.0, which are viewed as critical
technologies affecting national competitiveness (Hou & Zhang, 2014; Li, 2010;
MIIT, 2011; MIIT, 2015; Ni, 2011; Xi, 2014). Given the importance these
countries place on the changes brought about by developing technologies, the
Internet of Things has become an integral aspect of many countries'
manufacturing plans. It will become a major driving force for emerging nations
to achieve economic transformation and industrial upgrading, as well as to
drive high-level industrialisation and information integration.

In 1999, MIT Auto-ID Labs presented the notion of the Internet of Things,
which supports connecting computers and the internet with numerous things
to establish a wider network via ubiquitous sensors. Combining the existing

12
IoT definitions (Ashton, 2009; Miorandi, Sicari, De Pellegrini, & Chlamtac,
2012), we can define IoT as the collection and transformation of various
information of things via intelligent sensing devices and the internet to a
designated processing center for realizing automatic information interactions
between things and people.

The widespread use of IoT substantially simplifies the development of big

data, and the effective use of big data will greatly improve the effectiveness
and efficacy of IoT operations management (Wu, 2013a). The interaction and
transformation of information generated by IoT-enabled interconnection
generates a vast amount of high-speed, variable, and unstructured big data.
Big data analytics, as a disruptive technology, discovers new laws and
creates value by integrating analysis and deep mining of large real-world data,
and then seamlessly connecting the physical and digital worlds. (Wu, 2013b).

Due to the importance of the Internet of Things, academia has given close
attention to it. According to Sendler et al. (2014), Porter and Heppelmann
(2014), and Tien (2015), the Internet of Things enables intelligent
manufacturing, which is defined by high digitalization, networking, and self-
organizing production and is based on cyber physical systems. It will have a
profound and major impact on the global manufacturing industry, potentially
resulting in a new industrial revolution.

The content and characteristics of SCPs have altered the nature of industrial
structure and competitiveness, exposing firms to a plethora of new
competitive opportunities and difficulties, and will reconfigure the industrial
border (Porter & Heppelmann, 2014). Furthermore, from the supply side, the
IoT architecture and its resulting big data analytics significantly improve the
economic production efficiency of new items.

Such products necessitate changes in product design, manufacture, logistics,

marketing, and after-sales support, as well as the emergence of new
production techniques such as product big data analytics to reconfigure the
value chain. This will result in a new value chain-based productivity boost.

13
The scope and method of resource gathering will also shift significantly.
Businesses can allocate resources more efficiently and broadly. This will
result in a significant shift in production organization mode.

More importantly, how big data analytics related to the resources, capabilities,
and status information of products and manufacturing facilities in the IoT
environment can effectively promote efficiency in supply chain operations; and
how a firm can formulate an effective supply chain big-data sharing
governance mechanism present new critical but challenging issues emerging
in IoT-underlying supply chains.

Conclusion

To sum, IoT technology has significantly altered the environment in which

supply chains work. Real-time enormous data and information circulate faster
in the supply chain, and resource identification and utilization efficiency is
considerably increased. Nonetheless, the amount of visualization of supply
chain resources and the use of big data will continue to be determined by
firms' own decisions and their decision interactions with other supply chain
partners. Yet, IoT technology has altered the technical underpinning for the
development and management of economic systems, resulting in significant
and necessary changes in market demand, industrial structure, and supply
chain activities. For example, how does the introduction and popularity of IoT-
enabled SCPs affect consumer value proposition and consumer behavior?
How does this effect the design of corporate products? IoT and SCPs have
altered the value creation process and created new operational models,
posing new challenges to supply chain structure, network governance, and
the design of corresponding coordination mechanisms. Furthermore, how can
firms optimally acquire resources and capacities in IoT-enabled supply chains,
and how can new product dynamic pricing strategies for SCPs be determined
under the aforementioned values entanglement?

14
References

Ashton, K. (2009). That ‘internet of things’ thing RFiD Journal, 22 (7) (2009),
pp. 97-114.

Hou and Zhang, (2014). Leading high-level win-win cooperation between

China and Germany with innovation Xinhua Net (2014). Retrieved from;
http://finance.ifeng.com/a/20141011/13177592_0.shtml.

Li, (2010). The development strategy of Internet of things in Europe, America,

Japan, South Korea and China—the global development action of Internet of
things Radio Frequency Ubiquitous Journal (3) (2010), pp. 51-55.

MIIT, (2011). The 12th Five year development plan of Internet of things
(2011). Retrieved from; http://www.miit.gov.cn/.

MIIT, (2015). Made in China 2025 (2015); Retrieved from;

http://www.miit.gov.cn/MIIT, 2015.

Miorandi, D. et al (2012). Internet of things: Vision, applications and research

challenges Ad Hoc Networks, 10 (7) (2012), pp. 1497-1516,
10.1016/j.adhoc.2012.02.016

Ni, W. (2011). A survey of the policies of internet of things in the United States
Retrieved from (2011). Retrieved from; http://www.istis.sh.cn/list/list.aspx?
id=7194, [Accessed 13 March 2023].

Porter and Heppelmann, (2014). How smart, connected products are

transforming competition Harvard Business Review, 92 (11) (2014), pp. 64-
88.

15
Porter and Heppelmann, (2015).How smart, connected products are
transforming companies Harvard Business Review, 93 (10) (2015), pp. 96-
114.

Sendler, Deng, & Li, (2014). Industrie 4.0–Beherrschung der industriellen

Komplexität mit SysLM (Systems Lifecycle Management) (E.1 Ed.), China
Machine Press, Beijing (2014).

Tien, J.M (2015). Internet of connected ServGoods: Considerations,

consequences and concerns Journal of Systems Science and Systems
Engineering, 24 (2) (2015), pp. 130-167.

Wu, H. (2013a). Internet and big data Computer CD Software and Application,
9 (2013), pp. 64-65.

Wu, H (2013b). Opportunities and challenges in the era of big data

China Information Security, 3 (2013), pp. 9-10

Xi, J. (2014). China and Germany work together to benefit China, Europe and
the world Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of Germany (2014)
Retrieved from; http://www.china-un.ch/Eng/Xwdt/T1141878.Htm.

16