Operations Management

Select a publicly traded U.S or Canadian company that produces and sells goods.

a. Select a product or product line from the company. Describe its Customer Benefit Package, including the primary good or service, the peripheral goods and/or services, and any variants (if applicable).

b. Describe the company’s value chain by:

(i) Diagramming the value chain using a the Pre- and Postproduction Services framework, see section 1-7c and Exhibit 1-7, pp.15-16;

(ii) Supporting this diagram with a brief description of each item included in the diagram, see the Amazon example in section 1-7d and Exhibit 1.8, pp.16-18.

Be as specific as possible (refer to the Amazon example for guidance), using research on the company to support your report. Examples of research sources:

• 10K reports on Sedar or Edgar can provide detailed information on marketing, products, and supply chain and distribution risks;
• Company websites;
• Journal and newspaper articles written about the company
• Company advertisements

Note – if the company is a conglomerate, such as General Electric, focus on only one of its divisions to describe the value chain.