LAHORE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

ADVANCED OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT NO: 2
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC: THE TRIPPLE-A SUPPLY CHAIN
MBA 2
SECTION: C

NAMES: (Umar Zahid)

SUBMITTED TO: MS. MAHVESH MAHMUD

Disclaimer:
It is hereby stated that this assignment is the original effort of the individual/group and that no
part of this assignment has been plagiarized or copied from any source. I/We have read and
understood the assignment submission guidelines distributed via email by the instructor at the
beginning of the course and certify that this assignment adheres to the said guidelines.
Signature(s):

Q. Analyze Nokias VS Ericssons model with Triple A supply chain reading.

The triple A supply chain model states that the best supply chains are those which arent just fast
and cost effective. The best supply chains in this paper are those which are agile, adaptable and
aligned with the interest of the company. The case talks about a fire in the Philips plants which
was just of 10 minutes but caused Ericson to suffer in million whereas Nokia which was more
responsive in this situation reaped out enormous profits from themselves in this scenario.

AGILITY
Nokia was more responsive as compared to Ericson, as they responded quickly to handle the
disruption in their supply chain, they knew that the shortage could halt production on about 4
million handsets and affect 5 percent of its annual production. So to avoid that they promoted the
flow of information with their suppliers and found alternative supply sources whereas Ericsson
was unprepared and was depending on a quick Philips recovery. Being proactive and
collaborative with its suppliers helped Nokia continue with launching their new product whereas
Ericsson had to delay the launch leading its market share to suffer enormously.
ADAPTABILITY
Nokia in case of disruption adjusted their supply chain design to meet the structural shift in the
market, they modified their supply network, product and technologies to manage their production
schedules. They found alternate supplier from US and Japan to help cope up with the temporary
shortage of chips. Nokia was able to spot new supply bases and market whereas Ericsson was
unable to do so as they were so depended on Philips and hoped that the plant would be up and
running. Moreover they were unable to incorporate flexibility into their systems and were unable
to spot new supply bases and markets.
ALLIGNMENT
In case of Nokia the CEO gave the authority to the team to take on the ground decisions allowing
them to respond quickly (responsive), and they laid down the roles, tasks and responsibilities
clearly for suppliers and customers. Nokia further enhanced their supply chain by tracking major
shipments, creating contingency plans. Ericsson on the other hand failed to communicate
information with led to them having turn the new product into scrap and because their supply

chain was not flexible it hampered the companys market share from which they could never
recovered from.