Identify the criteria for selecting suppliers, distribution centers, third-party logistics firms, and retail stores, and then compare and contrast the criteria used for supplier selection in different industries.

Identify the criteria for selecting suppliers, distribution centers, third-party logistics firms, and retail stores, and then compare and contrast the criteria used for supplier selection in different industries. Address some of the challenges that would come with designing a supply chain network
A supplier supplies parts (Location, Quality of the parts, Delivery of the parts, Tech Support, Cost Management, and the Business relationship)
A Distribution center (Capacity, cost, locations, hours of service, service level, business relationship)
A logistics company (Delivery performance, capabilities (air, ground, sea), costs, capacity, business relationship)
Don’t worry about retail stores. I am not clear on why the course designer included that as retail stores are the end of the supply chain.
Take the common characteristics between the different aspects of the supply chain and the different aspects and compare and contrast. Then discuss the challenges of designing a supply chain network. The primary challenge is that you are looking for the lowest total cost. So if you buy parts from China, the parts have to go from a Chinese manufacturer by truck to a port, from port to port, from port to a distribution center or warehouse, from that DC or warehouse to a plant. There are a lot of hands in that process, which means there is a lot of risk for supply chain failures. Then consider the opposite, a manufacturer is buying from a supplier an hour away. The manufacturer doesn’t need to carry as much inventory, the logistics are easy, etc. The purchased price may be higher but the logistics costs would be lower.

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