Statement of the Problem

Supply chain is the most crucial part of any business organization. By examining research data on this topic, there will be a better understanding of whether delays in supply chain will affect the whole chain in the supply network. As a Business/Logistic major, it is essential to have a good understanding of supply chain delays and the effects it has on small businesses. This is a very interesting topic because a lot of small businesses ended up closing due to Covid 19.

Data

The data for this research was from published analysis on which United States small businesses are being hit hardest by supply chain disruptions. The data was analyzed using The U.S. Census Bureau'sSmall Business Pulse Survey (SBPS) (Callen, 2022). The data was set up in different chart formations.

Literature Review

The research on the topic of delays in supply chain focused on a peer-reviewed research study on this topic. The survey shows that 38.8% of U.S. small businesses reported domestic supplier delays (Callen, 2022). The researchers did find that supply delays were coming from both domestic suppliers and international suppliers. The survey shows that 15.9% of U.S. small businesses reported foreign supplier delays. The research shows that all types of businesses are seeing delays in supply chain, not just a certain type. The percentage of businesses by sector that reported domestic and foreign supplier disruptions are manufacturing, retail, construction, accommodation, and food services (Callen, 2022). The survey also measures how hard it was for small businesses to find alternative suppliers (Callen, 2022). For small businesses, 18.9% reported difficulty to find alternative domestic suppliers and reported 7.2% difficulty to find alternative foreign suppliers.

Goal Statement

The end result of my research is to determine if supply chain delays would affect the whole chain in the supply network or just some business. By using my research and using Excel to analyze my research data, I will compare that data with what I found in the literature review research article listed in the literature review section.

Research Questions

There are two research questions for this research paper.

Research Question 1: What caused the supply chain delays?

Research Question 2: How do delays with supply chain measure by state?

Methodology

Hypothesis. My hypothesis is that when there are supply chain delays there are delays in delivering/shipping to customers.

Testing my Hypothesis. I will primarily use descriptive statistics and my literature review to test my hypothesis.

Organizing my Data. My data will be organized using Excel. The data will be organized by state in relation to delays in each state in relation to supply chain. The data will be organized with the states with the most delays and their associated percentage rates at the top of the Excel data table. Then, as the data moves through each state in order of a decrease in delay rates will be identified in Excel.

Calculating my Statistical Data. Using the Data Analysis Descriptive Statistics tool in Excel, the data analysis was carried out with that specific tool.

Identifying Conflicts. Any identified conflicts will be discussed with each research question.

Use of Descriptive Statistics. Descriptive statistics will be the primary tool for identifying the conclusions through data analysis.

Data Analysis

Below is the descriptive statistics from my research data. Below is a sample of my data with the lowest delays in delivery/shipping to customers by state and lowest supplier delays:

State	Supplier Delays	Delays in Delivery/Shipping to Customers
Hawaii	60.7	17.0
Louisiana	55.2	18.1
Utah	55.6	18.2
West Virginia	46.5	19.3
North Dakota	68.1	19.4
Alaska	28.6	19.8
Kentucky	60.2	19.9
New Mexico	48.0	20.0
Nevada	51.9	20.6
Connecticut	61.6	21.3
Oklahoma	63.5	21.4
Maryland	58.5	21.6
Missouri	64.4	21.6
Delaware	52.8	21.7
Iowa	67.0	22.1
Virginia	57.8	22.2
Massachusetts	70.0	22.2
New York	57.5	22.8
New Hampshire	69.3	23.0
Montana	65.3	23.1
Illinois	62.2	23.2
Colorado	65.2	23.3
Pennsylvania	71.1	23.3
California	59.1	23.5
Alabama	58.1	23.8

Below are the states with the highest supplier delays and highest delays in delivery/shipping to customers:

State	Supplier Delays	Delays in Delivery/Shipping to Customers
Vermont	74.9	26.4
Wisconsin	73.7	31.1
Mississippi	73.6	32.6
Arkansas	72.4	26.3
Idaho	72.3	32.5
Minnesota	72.0	30.1
Pennsylvania	71.1	23.3
Georgia	70.6	28.1
Massachusetts	70.0	22.2
Oregon	69.4	31.8
North Carolina	69.4	24.6
New Hampshire	69.3	23.0
Florida	69.1	26.3
Kansas	68.5	28.2
Michigan	68.4	26.6
Arizona	68.3	26.6
Washington	68.1	27.1
North Dakota	68.1	19.4
Ohio	67.5	27.5
Iowa	67.0	22.1
Wyoming	66.6	28.6
Maine	66.3	24.4
Montana	65.3	23.1
Colorado	65.2	23.3
Nebraska	64.4	24.1

Below you will find the Mean, Median, and Standard Deviation of the data. The Mean of 24.502 means the average of delays of delivery/shipping to customers out of the fifty states was 24.502% Based on all the data, there was a standard deviation of 3.94 delays of delivery/shipping to customers.

Descriptive Statistics
Mean	24.502
Standard Error	0.557190401
Median	23.95
Mode	26.3
Standard Deviation	3.939931109
Sample Variance	15.52305714
Kurtosis	-0.579813263
Skewness	0.285878291
Range	15.6
Minimum	17
Maximum	32.6
Sum	1225.1
Count	50

Below is a graphic depicting how states with higher delays from suppliers did not mean they had the highest delays of delivery/shipping to customers. The graphic tells us that the states with higher delays of delivery/shipping to customers did not always have higher delays from suppliers. Whereas, the states with the lowest delays of delivery/shipping to customers did not always have the lowest delays from suppliers.

With a standard deviation of 3.94%, the mean delivery/shipping delay to customers across all states is 24.502%. This suggests that there are some differences in the delays that customers encounter in the various states. Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Idaho have the largest delivery/shipping to customer delays, with delays of 31.1%, 32.6%, and 32.5%. Hawaii, Louisiana, and Utah, on the other hand, had the fewest shipping/delivery delays to customers, with delays of 17.0%, 18.1%, and 18.2%. Vermont, Wisconsin, and Mississippi have the largest supplier delays, with delays of 74.9%, 73.7%, and 73.6%. With delays of  28.6%, 46.5%, and 48.0%, Alaska, West Virginia, and New Mexico, on the other hand, see the fewest delays from suppliers.

The graph demonstrates that there is no direct correlation between supplier delays and delays in shipping/delivery to customers. Some jurisdictions have substantial supplier delays while others experience low consumer delivery/shipping delays. For instance, Vermont experiences the greatest delay from suppliers, yet it does not have the worst delay in delivery/shipping to customers. Similarly, Alaska has the smallest supplier delay, but it does not have the smallest delivery/shipping delay to customers.

According to the data, Pennsylvania ranks on both lists of states with the longest supplier delays and the longest delivery/shipping delays to customers. This implies that there might be some underlying causes for the delays in this state. Some of the underlying causes could be the distance to delivery locations, population density, and area weather patterns are a few potential contributing factors.

Conclusion

The findings from my data analysis confirm my hypothesis that when there are supply chain delays, there are delays in delivery/shipping to customers. This finding is consistent with the literature review research article listed in the literature review section which showed that 38.8% of U.S. small businesses reported domestic supplier delays and 15.9% reported foreign supplier delays (Callen, 2022).

 The data analysis results provide answers to the two research questions posed. Research Question 1: What caused the supply chain delays? The data analysis results show that delays in the supply chain were caused by both domestic and foreign suppliers. Research Question 2: How do delays with supply chain measures by state? The data analysis results show that the states with the highest supplier delays and highest delays in delivery/shipping to customers were Vermont, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Idaho.

The findings from the data analysis support the statement of the problem which is to determine if supply chain delays would affect the whole chain in the supply network or just some businesses. The descriptive statistics from my research data shows that the average of delays of delivery/shipping to customers out of the fifty states was 24.502% with a standard deviation of 3.94. This suggests that there are some differences in the delays that customers encounter in the various states.

The findings from the data analysis, literature review, and research question provide a better understanding of supply chain delays and the effects it has on small businesses. By understanding the data analysis results, it is possible to conclude that supply chain delays have a direct impact on the delivery/shipping of goods to customers. My research has demonstrated that delays in the supply chain are caused by both domestic and foreign suppliers. Additionally, the data analysis results show that the states with the highest supplier delays and highest delays in delivery/shipping to customers are located primarily in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. The supply chain is a complex network of operations that must be managed effectively in order to ensure that goods are delivered to customers in a timely manner. Delays can have a significant impact on businesses due to the associated costs, customer dissatisfaction, and potential loss of business.

 

Reflection

 Discuss the following in this reflection:

1. How this project illustrated the importance of statistics in a career and community
2. How these efforts connect to prior courses taken and could inform future courses
3. The process you used to complete the project
4. How this process changed the perspective on some element of learning
5. How this new approach could help in future courses. 

Percentage 10.0 0.0 Delays per State 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 Oregon Mississippi South Carolina Kansas Minnesota Ohio Indiana Florida Michigan Vermont South Dakota Nebraska California North Carolina State Colorado Montana New York Virginia Delaware -Supplier Delays Delays in Delivery/Shipping to Customers Maryland Connecticut New Mexico Alaska Louisiana West Virginia