Wyldeburg Ltd (WL) is a small niche provider of products for garden birds including seeds, feeders and associated products. One of the best selling products is sunflower seed hearts. They are sold in 1kg, 3kg, 5kg and 10kg packs to 176 garden centres, 25 pet shops, two supermarket chains and direct to the public via the Internet. The seeds are procured from China, packed in 50Kg sacks delivered in minimum 11 tonne loads. The lead time from order to deliver to WL is quoted at 43 calendar days. WL use an agent to manage the freight forwarding to the WL packing and production plant. WL break the sacks down into the four different sized packs based upon the production forecast which is formed at the beginning of each month. Demand is variable, dependent upon the route to market and the season. Overall it can vary from 5 to 20 tonnes per month. The maximum storage capacity of the WL packing and distribution plant is 24 tonnes of finished products and 26 tonnes of the 50Kg sacks. Garden centres and pet shops order weekly, supermarkets forecast weekly but firm up at 6pm the day before delivery and products are on a sale or return basis. Customers ordering via the Internet before 3pm will have their products despatched the same day. Delivery to local garden centres and pet shops is undertaken by WLs own transport and for distant outlets a national carrier is used. For supermarket deliveries, and returns, a different national carrier is used and for direct to public sales the Royal Mail parcel service is used. The company has experienced a number of issues relating to its logistical activities. Namely; Returned goods from pet shops and garden centres because of damaged packaging during transit or offloading Large volume returns from supermarkets as a new seasons products are substituted in the valuable gondola-end displays within the retailer. Shortages of 1kg and 3kg packs Insufficient storage capacity within the packing and distribution plant.

Tasks You have been appointed as a new distribution manager and have been given free rein to review the distribution operation and its relationship to the overall supply chain of the firm. 1 What issues can you identify that are related to your function and what solutions would you suggest 40 marks 2 What issues do you anticipate having to discuss with other departments such as sales, production and procurement, and what facets of their responsibilities would you seek to persuade them to change 60 marks

Note; Please use the conversion of 1000kgs equal to 1 tonne in your calculations

CASE STUDY BASIC GUIDELINES Step 1 Overview of the case study (background context) Read the case study generally to gain an overview and ask and answer the following questions as you read; What background facts influence the current problems? What are the constraints or obstacles of the situation? What are the key overall areas that I will need to look at in detail to answer this assignment? Understanding the background issues helps to understand the context of the case study.

Step 2 Identifying the specific problems,( which may be directly asked in the question or not) Identifying the major problems and their causes correctly gives you some opportunity to identify the necessary solutions Re-read the case study and list the issues and/or problems in your own words. Sort the major problems from the minor problems Identify specific discussion/ numerical evidence from the case study which relates to each of the problems Discuss the underlying causes of the problems. Note that a mindmap approach can sometimes be helpful . Step 3 Linking theory to problems and case evidence You need to tie the identified issues/or problems of the case study to theory or best practice to demonstrate your application of knowledge from your module, and your ability to relate it to practical situationsStep 4

Step 4 Answering This section will include a description of what you understand the problems to be. You then take each one separately and evaluate the potential solutions for the identified key problems. Note; Often there is more than one solution, so it is useful to evaluate each solution in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. The use of numerical data given in the case or from your notes will ensure that your answer has more credibility, and obviously marks. In addition these calculations will feed into determining your recommendations. Things that may need to be considered are: costs time resources expertise tradeoffs with other supply chain functions customer satisfaction/repeat purchases/market share Your answer should be clear and concise and well structured. Recommended structure: use headings and subheadings where possible bullet points or numbered lists can also be used to list the advantages and disadvantages. Additional Information/References and Appendices (if relevant) should be included at the back of the document. A concluding paragraph should be given at the end of each question,(where appropriate)