Collaboration Tools for Supply Chain and Operations Departments

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Write a 4-6 page report in which you recommend a collaboration tool and describe the advantages of increased collaboration to the organization and how it would impact forecasting and decision making.

Introduction
When working for a global company, an operations manager needs to understand the inter-departmental relationships and ensure these relationships are fostered. For this assessment, you will select a collaboration tool that will ensure the workflow is maximized.

Scenario
Select one of the following options to guide your research and prepare the deliverable that outlines the rationale for selecting a collaboration tool.

Option 2
Great news! All of your recommendations for improvement have been implemented at Mainland Tools, and there was not a need for the alternative you suggested. Now that the physical layout is complete, you find that departments that should normally collaborate have minimal communications. The communications usually take place when there is a problem as opposed to being proactive. Furthermore, now that this business is part the larger Thomson Tool company, communication and collaboration in supply chain and operations has never been more important.

Collaboration Tools for Supply Chain and Operations Departments

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Some of the departments that must be included in the collaboration are:

Marketing – this will help with understanding the next product that will be promoted.
Sales – this will help with forecasting and production decisions.
Purchasing – this will help to understand potential suppliers.
Distribution centers (DC) – this will help understand the inventory levels.
Transportation – this will help understand the logistics of moving products.
You will need to select three departments from the ones listed above and analyze why they are the most important ones for you to communicate and collaborate with on a weekly basis. You will also need to analyze collaboration tools. The parent company has the Microsoft Suite of tools, so the options for Microsoft collaboration tools are SharePoint, Planner, and TEAMS. You may also use another set of three collaboration tools of your choice or to which you have access.

Your Role
You are a manager of operations and supply chain for the parent manufacturing company. The newly acquired global company must collaborate with other departments involved in the supply chain and operations of the business. You must identify three departments that will have the greatest impact on the business when collaboration takes place.

Collaboration Tools for Supply Chain and Operations Departments

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Requirements
Write a report in which you address the following for either your selected company or Mainland Tools:

Identify three departments where increased collaboration would bring the greatest value.
Evaluate the role each department plays and its value in the supply chain, including internal/external tasks and accountabilities.
Explain the characteristics of three different forecasting models.
Evaluate the advantages of increased collaboration to the organization and how it would impact forecasting and decision making.
Analyze the pros and cons of Microsoft SharePoint, Planner, and TEAMS, or another set of three collaboration tools of your choice or to which you have access. (You may need to use the trial version of the software to do your analysis, or you can refer to industry reviews of the product.) Consider these things:
User friendliness for different roles and departments.
Ease of implementation.
Integration with existing tools and applications.
Training needs and change management considerations.
Cost.
Select the collaboration tool to adopt and provide justification for the selection.
Evaluate whether the adoption of the collaboration tool would have ethical or legal implications. (Does it meet minimal ADA and OSHA compliance? Does it facilitate translation into Chinese or other languages?)

Collaboration Tools for Supply Chain and Operations Departments

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Conclusion.
Deliverable Format
Report requirements:
Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message and quality.
Use at least five scholarly resources, cited in APA format.
Your report should be 4–6 pages, single spaced.
Use 12 point, Times New Roman.
Related company standards:
Use a professional report format of your choice. Remember that you are preparing a professional document meant for executive leadership with limited time. Your report should follow the corresponding MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines (available in the MBA Program Resources), including single-spaced paragraphs. If you are new to this type of writing and document style, you may wish to use these sections as a way to organize your report:

Title Page.
Description of the role of three departments and evaluation of their value in the supply chain.
Characteristics of three different forecasting models.
Evaluation of the advantages of increased collaboration to the organization and how it would impact forecasting and decision making.
Analysis of collaboration tools and justification of selection.
Evaluation of whether adoption of the collaboration tool would have ethical or legal implications.
Conclusion.
Appendix (as needed).
Evaluation
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies through corresponding scoring guide criteria.

Collaboration Tools for Supply Chain and Operations Departments

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Competency 1: Apply systems theory to global operations and supply chain management system design and strategies.
Evaluate the role of departments and their value in the supply chain, considering internal/external tasks and accountabilities.
Competency 2: Apply systems theory to organizational infrastructure to support global supply chain management systems.
Explain the characteristics of three different forecasting models.
Evaluate the advantages of increased collaboration to the organization and how it would impact forecasting and decision making.
Analyze the user friendliness, ease of implementation, integration with existing applications, training needs, and change management considerations of collaboration tools.
Justify the selection of a collaboration tool with research and evidence.
Competency 4: Apply ethical and legal principles to supply chain management strategies and business systems.
Evaluate whether adoption of the collaboration tool would have ethical or legal implications.
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions

Collaboration Tools for Supply Chain and Operations Departments

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