Business Analytics Model for Logistics Evaluation
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
The Masters studies course assessment is related to business analytics techniques, especially prescriptive analytics techniques, to design a system to support the decision-making process.
Assignment
In this assignment, each student is asked to design a decision-making model for a managerial decision problem. Students must use decision-making techniques to deal with the assigned problem and subsequently provide a report based on their analysis.
Assigned Topic : A decision support system for sustainable third-party logistics provider evaluation/selection in a large manufacturing company . A large manufacturing company is planning to outsource their purchasing activities to a third-party logistics provider. They have shortlisted four third-party logistics providers, and each of them has different characteristics that could impact the success of the manufacturing company. As a business analyst, your task is to design a system to rank the third-party logistics providers using appropriate decision-making methods.
Assignment component
1 Background
• Background related to your decision problem and decision environment.
• Background related to the industry of your decision problem.
2. Literature review
• Discuss the previous works that have been done related to your decision problem. Perform a literature review related to the various decision-making techniques (or a variation of them) that have been applied to your considered problem.
• Identify and categorise various decision attributes/criteria and sub-attributes/sub-criteria related to the decision problem.
Note: The previous works to conduct your literature reviews need to be from online conferences and academic journal papers.
3. Hypothetical case application and analysis
1 Consider your assigned topic and devise a hypothetical example and describe it here.
2 Finalise the list of decision attributes/criteria and sub-attributes/sub-criteria related to the decision problem
3 Identify decision-making techniques such as FIS, AHP, BWM, TOPSIS, SAW or a combination of them that will guide the analysis. You need to justify clearly why you are using your selected method(s).
4 Based on the selected technique, carry out qualitative and quantitative analysis (apply the defined technique(s)) using your hypothetical data and clearly show your calculations. You can use Excel software to perform your calculations. However, you need to clearly show the calculation procedure in your report.
5 You need to present the hypothetical data related to your assigned topic in this section.
6 You need to show step by step of your analysis in your report.
4. Recommendations and Conclusion
• Present the results and justify the recommended course of action.
• Discuss how your proposed decision-making model can be implemented as a (semi)automated decision support system and can benefit a related company.
• Conclude the report with your understood lessons and avenues for some future work related to the domain of analysis.
5. References
Each student will need to review and cite at least 10 sources (journal papers and conference articles) in their submitted report.
File format: MS Word and Analysis file in excel
Word count of report: 3000 words (±10%) excluding bibliography and appendices.
Hint: Please make sure that you are going through the MADM process introduced within the “Lecture- Prescriptive Analytics” _lecture notes. You will need to show how each of those steps is implemented in your project.
Assignment
In this assignment, each student is asked to design a decision-making model for a managerial decision problem. Students must use decision-making techniques to deal with the assigned problem and subsequently provide a report based on their analysis.
Assigned Topic : A decision support system for sustainable third-party logistics provider evaluation/selection in a large manufacturing company . A large manufacturing company is planning to outsource their purchasing activities to a third-party logistics provider. They have shortlisted four third-party logistics providers, and each of them has different characteristics that could impact the success of the manufacturing company. As a business analyst, your task is to design a system to rank the third-party logistics providers using appropriate decision-making methods.
Assignment component
1 Background
• Background related to your decision problem and decision environment.
• Background related to the industry of your decision problem.
2. Literature review
• Discuss the previous works that have been done related to your decision problem. Perform a literature review related to the various decision-making techniques (or a variation of them) that have been applied to your considered problem.
• Identify and categorise various decision attributes/criteria and sub-attributes/sub-criteria related to the decision problem.
Note: The previous works to conduct your literature reviews need to be from online conferences and academic journal papers.
3. Hypothetical case application and analysis
1 Consider your assigned topic and devise a hypothetical example and describe it here.
2 Finalise the list of decision attributes/criteria and sub-attributes/sub-criteria related to the decision problem
3 Identify decision-making techniques such as FIS, AHP, BWM, TOPSIS, SAW or a combination of them that will guide the analysis. You need to justify clearly why you are using your selected method(s).
4 Based on the selected technique, carry out qualitative and quantitative analysis (apply the defined technique(s)) using your hypothetical data and clearly show your calculations. You can use Excel software to perform your calculations. However, you need to clearly show the calculation procedure in your report.
5 You need to present the hypothetical data related to your assigned topic in this section.
6 You need to show step by step of your analysis in your report.
4. Recommendations and Conclusion
• Present the results and justify the recommended course of action.
• Discuss how your proposed decision-making model can be implemented as a (semi)automated decision support system and can benefit a related company.
• Conclude the report with your understood lessons and avenues for some future work related to the domain of analysis.
5. References
Each student will need to review and cite at least 10 sources (journal papers and conference articles) in their submitted report.
File format: MS Word and Analysis file in excel
Word count of report: 3000 words (±10%) excluding bibliography and appendices.
Hint: Please make sure that you are going through the MADM process introduced within the “Lecture- Prescriptive Analytics” _lecture notes. You will need to show how each of those steps is implemented in your project.