How will drones impact the supply chain? Why are big retailers racing to be the first to market with drone home delivery? What types of jobs can be taken over by drones? What are the pros and cons of using a drone to deliver packages?

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OPM 301 Case 5 (HAND-Written, Individual submission)
CASE 5A: Using Drones as SCM logistic channel
Using drones to drop off packages could be great for buyers who might want to get certain items as fast as
humanly possible. Back in 2013, when Amazon revealed plans to begin delivering packages via flying
drones through Prime Air, some seemed skeptical about the reality of deploying such a system. Recently,
Amazon doubled down on those claims by releasing information on one of its new drones in action, and it is
seriously impressive.
A new video presented by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson (who is working on a show for Amazon)
takes us through the entire process, from ordering, to warehouse launch, to delivery. The new drone looks a
lot different from the one Amazon showed us a couple of years ago. This one has a more commercial and
streamlined look, and instead of showing the package hanging in open air, the new drone hides the item in a
square compartment. Just Google "Amazon Prime Air Drone video with Jeremy Clarkson" to see for
yourself this amazing new drone that will dramatically impact the supply chain.
According to Amazon, the drone reaches a height of about 400 feet in vertical mode and then switches to
horizontal mode to travel up to 15 miles away from the warehouse. During the flight, the drone uses what
Amazon calls "sense and avoid technology" to avoid collisions with other objects in its flight path.
Toward the end of the video, the drone alights atop an Amazon logo in the yard of a consumer and spits out
the package (in this case, shoes) and then takes off in a matter of seconds. The delivery process, which
Amazon is careful to note is real and not a simulation, comes off seamlessly, making the prospect of drone
deliveries seem like something that will be viable just a few months from now.
However, despite the encouraging footage, Amazon is still holding off on announcing exactly when its
drones will take to the skies. On the updated Prime Air page featuring the new flight footage, a message
reads, "Putting Prime Air into service will take some time, but we will deploy when we have the regulatory
support needed to realize our vision."
The FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Registration Task Force Aviation Rulemaking Committee is still
hammering out rules for private and commercial drone use in U.S. air space, so Amazon's lack of a specific
launch timeline for Prime Air is understandable. But based on the video, it's becoming increasingly clear that
Prime Air might not be a mere marketing stunt but a real look at the future of Amazon deliveries.
Questions
1. How will drones impact the supply chain?
2. Why are big retailers racing to be the first to market with drone home delivery?
3. What types of jobs can be taken over by drones?
4. What are the pros and cons of using a drone to deliver packages?
CASE 6 B: The need of Agility in SCM
According to "New Study on Collaborative Execution Finds Supply Chain Collaboration Can Improve
Operational Metrics by 50 Percent or More" (Bloomberg, 2012),
By a ratio of nearly two to one, supply chain professionals agreed that one of the biggest barriers to
successful collaboration is a slow issue resolution process. This was identified as a systemic problem
related to quality of information flow, in terms of both the granularity (level of detail) and timeliness
of data shared.
OPM 301 Case 5 (HAND-Written, Individual submission)
And 92 percent of respondents agreed that rapid problem resolution was part of good collaboration.
True collaboration can be defined in terms of speed, both in problem solving and in organizational
learning. More than half of the responses indicated that speed of response in truly collaborative
relationships was twice as fast or faster, with learning curve improvements more than 50 percent
greater than in non-collaborative trading partner relationships.
a. Discuss why supply chain partners may not be able to resolve issues quickly. Consider information
flows in your discussion.
b. What impacts might slow problem (issue) resolution have on the supply chain?
c. Based on your answer to (a), discuss which enterprise systems could speed up problem resolution.
d. What is meant by learning curve improvements?
e. Distinguish between ERP and SCM software. In what ways do they complement each other? Why
should they be integrated?
Transcribed Image Text:OPM 301 Case 5 (HAND-Written, Individual submission) CASE 5A: Using Drones as SCM logistic channel Using drones to drop off packages could be great for buyers who might want to get certain items as fast as humanly possible. Back in 2013, when Amazon revealed plans to begin delivering packages via flying drones through Prime Air, some seemed skeptical about the reality of deploying such a system. Recently, Amazon doubled down on those claims by releasing information on one of its new drones in action, and it is seriously impressive. A new video presented by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson (who is working on a show for Amazon) takes us through the entire process, from ordering, to warehouse launch, to delivery. The new drone looks a lot different from the one Amazon showed us a couple of years ago. This one has a more commercial and streamlined look, and instead of showing the package hanging in open air, the new drone hides the item in a square compartment. Just Google "Amazon Prime Air Drone video with Jeremy Clarkson" to see for yourself this amazing new drone that will dramatically impact the supply chain. According to Amazon, the drone reaches a height of about 400 feet in vertical mode and then switches to horizontal mode to travel up to 15 miles away from the warehouse. During the flight, the drone uses what Amazon calls "sense and avoid technology" to avoid collisions with other objects in its flight path. Toward the end of the video, the drone alights atop an Amazon logo in the yard of a consumer and spits out the package (in this case, shoes) and then takes off in a matter of seconds. The delivery process, which Amazon is careful to note is real and not a simulation, comes off seamlessly, making the prospect of drone deliveries seem like something that will be viable just a few months from now. However, despite the encouraging footage, Amazon is still holding off on announcing exactly when its drones will take to the skies. On the updated Prime Air page featuring the new flight footage, a message reads, "Putting Prime Air into service will take some time, but we will deploy when we have the regulatory support needed to realize our vision." The FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Registration Task Force Aviation Rulemaking Committee is still hammering out rules for private and commercial drone use in U.S. air space, so Amazon's lack of a specific launch timeline for Prime Air is understandable. But based on the video, it's becoming increasingly clear that Prime Air might not be a mere marketing stunt but a real look at the future of Amazon deliveries. Questions 1. How will drones impact the supply chain? 2. Why are big retailers racing to be the first to market with drone home delivery? 3. What types of jobs can be taken over by drones? 4. What are the pros and cons of using a drone to deliver packages? CASE 6 B: The need of Agility in SCM According to "New Study on Collaborative Execution Finds Supply Chain Collaboration Can Improve Operational Metrics by 50 Percent or More" (Bloomberg, 2012), By a ratio of nearly two to one, supply chain professionals agreed that one of the biggest barriers to successful collaboration is a slow issue resolution process. This was identified as a systemic problem related to quality of information flow, in terms of both the granularity (level of detail) and timeliness of data shared. OPM 301 Case 5 (HAND-Written, Individual submission) And 92 percent of respondents agreed that rapid problem resolution was part of good collaboration. True collaboration can be defined in terms of speed, both in problem solving and in organizational learning. More than half of the responses indicated that speed of response in truly collaborative relationships was twice as fast or faster, with learning curve improvements more than 50 percent greater than in non-collaborative trading partner relationships. a. Discuss why supply chain partners may not be able to resolve issues quickly. Consider information flows in your discussion. b. What impacts might slow problem (issue) resolution have on the supply chain? c. Based on your answer to (a), discuss which enterprise systems could speed up problem resolution. d. What is meant by learning curve improvements? e. Distinguish between ERP and SCM software. In what ways do they complement each other? Why should they be integrated?
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