Operational Management

Description1500 wordsAddress all parts of the question including a) b) and c) in your answer. Use relevant on-line sources and academic journal articles to support your answer. Please use Harvard referencing style throughout the essay and include a full reference list at the end of the essay (the reference list is not include in the word count)Essay Question 1: A recent article in the Economist (Dec 16th, 2020 – See article on Canvas) asked Is a wave of supply chain reshoring around the corner. The article notes that supply chain managers have had a stressful few years. From the US-China Trade-War, to Brexit and now COVID 19 induced factory and supplier shutdowns,; there has been a lot for managers to deal with. In April 2020 a survey conducted by EY, an accounting firm, found that as many as 83% of multi-national executives were contemplating reshoring, or nearshoring strategies. However, after the initial scare at the start of the pandemic, many companies seem to have lost their urgency to rush back home. A follow-up survey by EY in October 2021 found that just 37% of executives were still considering reshoring. Imagine you are the Supply Chain Director for a multi-national electronics firm headquartered in the United States that sources components from South East Asia, manufactures final products in China and sells finished goods primarily in the USA (60% of sales volume) and the remainder in Europe (20% of sales volume), China (10% of sales volume) and India (10% of sales volume). Please answer each of the following questions in your essay:a)Based on world events over the past four years, would you consider reshoring production from China back to the USA? If yes then please explain why, if not what other supply chain strategy would you pursue?b)How would you implement your new supply chain strategy and what aspects of your supply chain would need to change in order to support this new strategy?c)What would your recommendations be to your companys Board of Directors to put your supply chain strategy into practice? Please outline the benefits and trade-offs of your recommendations