Supplier Analysis Guidelines

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P320 Supplier Analysis Project

**HINT: Read through this entire document BEFORE starting any piece of it.

Acquiring the right goods and services from the right suppliers requires two core skill sets: 1) category analysis and

expertise as well as 2) supplier analysis and selection.

To give you a hands–on experience with managing the sourcing process, we will set up groups of students to act as a

buying organization for a company, NGO, or public entity. Your group will define your own buying scenario and

name your own company. Most importantly, you can select your own category—for which you will then identify

and select an appropriate supplier. This project consists of the following steps:

1. Scenario Development and Category Analysis. Select a category that you want to learn more about. Identify a

scenario in which this category is purchased. Establish a fictitious company. Then conduct a category analysis

looking at the issues that might affect availability and price—e.g., industry structure, production capacity,

production processes, alternatives, technologies, etc. Please be careful with your category selection. Choose a

category for which ample information is publically available. As a team, you will put together a “possible”

supplier list. Please be careful with your supplier selection. Choose suppliers that are publically traded—this

will assure that information is publically available.

2. Supplier Selection Scorecard Development and Financial Analysis. Once you define the nature of your

company and learn about your selected category, you will develop an appropriate supplier selection scorecard to

use in the supplier selection process. The ability to develop such a scorecard is a critical skill that will enhance

your marketability. The only criterion you are required to use is financial viability. I will provide you with a set

of financial ratios that will help you determine the financial health of a supplier—and whether it will still be in

business in the future.

3. Supplier Analysis. Each member of the team will gather the data needed to perform an in–depth supplier

analysis on one supplier from the supplier pool. Using your scorecard, evaluate the supplier and make a

recommendation to your group.

4. Supplier Selection. Relying on the individual supplier evaluations, determine as a team which supplier is your

best option. In other words, compare the different suppliers and propose a final supplier selection decision.

Your goal is twofold: document the process and convince management you have made the right choice. Please

think about how you can make this a creative and fun learning experience.

Your final project will be a compilation of the documents you create during all four parts of the project.

You will take a friendly peer–review approach on this project. You will be assigned another group to work with. At

each checkpoint/milestone, share your cumulative work with your peer group, i.e., compile a portfolio throughout

the semester and turn in the complete to–date portfolio to your peer group each time. They will look at your project

with two goals in mind: 1) benchmark their efforts, and 2) provide you feedback. You will do the same for them.

Due dates for your friendly peer reviews are on the syllabus schedule. This process will give you vital feedback to

help you improve your own project. Please stay on track with the checkpoints.

To help you stay on track, each group will turn in a one–page summary of your progress at each due date. In this

progress report, please make a statement that your group has completed the assignment–to–date (assuming your

group has done so), and note the roles each team member has played in making progress on that part.

Part 1 – Scenario Development and Category Assessment

A. Deliverables to your peer group

a. One–page statement of your team’s Scenario Development

b. Five–page (maximum) Category Assessment

B. Grading criteria and weight

a. This is a group effort (1 Scenario Development and 1 Category Assessment by team)

b. 5% of final grade

C. Due February 17, 2020

Scenario Development:

Select a category (product or service) that your team wants to learn more about. Examples for which student groups

have performed outstanding projects follow below, however if there are other categories that you prefer to work on

that is fine. Just make sure that there are enough potential suppliers available to perform the analysis.