IFB209TC LOGISTICS AND DISTRIBUTION Assessment Two: Business Analysis Assignment 2 nd SEMESTER 2023/24

Task: Write a report (2,500 words  ±  10%) that analyses international logistics and distribution for a company in the real world regarding its current operating situation and ongoing sustainable improvement. Provide potential solutions to further improve efficiency or/and sustainability in the logistics  and distribution of the selected company.

Background and context: Select a real company in the world as the research objective. The company could be a company in the industry of manufacturing, energy, mining, agriculture, medicine, and so on, which sells their products or purchase the raw materials globally. Imagine you are a logistics manager of the selected company. Your immediate task is to analyse and improve the international logistics  and distribution, especially maritime logistics.

Indicative Content:

While its content and structure is for you to determine, the following is an indicative list of some of the content you could incorporate into your report:

-   A short introduction that includes the aims and objectives of the report,a description of how you have approached the task, and an overview of the structure of the report.

-   A short description of the company you selected, including main areas of business, main

products, target markets (specific countries and even cities), and any other information that you consider relevant to the task at hand.

-   A detailed logistics and/or distribution plan for either raw materials (bulk cargoes, contained goods, etc.) or final products all over the world. A figure illustrating the logistics and distribution structure/network with transportation modes is required.

-   A critical analysis of the current operational situation in terms of efficiency or/and sustainability issues.

-   Solutions and justification of your improvement plan in comparison with the current situation.

-   Brief discussion of the potential influence and/or risks regarding implementation.

Tips:

-   The choice of different sectors  in the maritime logistics  is dependent on the material/product characteristics.

-   Both qualitative and quantitative methods are encouraged. You are suggested to  use real data (e.g. information from the company and industry reports) for quantitative analysis.

-   Can leverage on some reasonable assumptions when providing solutions.

Word count: 2,500 words± 10%, including table of contents, abstract/executive summary (if have), tables, figures. Marks will be deducted for work that exceeds the word count limit (see grading scheme below).