select a large, publicly-traded corporation (e.g.: HYPERLINK “http://fortune.com/fortune500/” http://fortune.com/fortune500/) as the focus of their research. You must have access to the organization’s most recent annual report (commonly available on the corporate website or via DePaul’s libraries). The research paper should respond to the following topics:
Describe the organization’s primary product line.
Provide a brief industry overview (e.g.: competitive environment, macroeconomic trends, & common risk exposures).
How is product/service quality defined within the organization’s competitive environment?
How does the target company differentiate themselves from their competitors?
What is the relative importance of the flow of physical inventory, provision of services, and distribution of information?
How is their supply chain organized?
What supply chain & operational metrics should they track to monitor their performance?
Does their supply chain structure support their competitive strategy (why or why not)?
Does their supply chain structure expose them to unique operational risk (e.g.: natural disaster, political turmoil, or port closures)?
Given the current technology & operational processes used in their industry, are there opportunities to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of their operations (explain)?
How might they leverage one or more of the “disruptive technologies