Unit VII Essay

Supply Chain Management

Select a company of your choice, and calculate the most current days of working capital (DWC) that are available. Review page 656 in the textbook, and watch the short video segment “Working Capital,” which is one of the required unit resources in this unit. In addition to your calculations, include the information below in your essay.

How does this company’s ratio compare to those of its competitors?

Why is comparing this ratio to the industry average important?

Explain how a well-managed supply chain can come into play here.

You may use the company’s webpage, or keep in mind that the CSU Online Library has several databases to choose from that are good starting points for your research:

Mergent Online,

Business Insights: Global,

Business Source Ultimate, and

ABI/INFORM Collection.

Your essay should be at least two pages in length. Use APA format to cite and reference all quoted and paraphrased material, including your textbook. Use a minimum of two sources, one of which may be the textbook. Include a title page, introduction, body, conclusion, and references page. An abstract is not required.

Essay Preview:

The company I have chosen to analyze for this essay is Amazon.

In order to calculate the most current days of working capital (DWC) for Amazon, the following information is needed: current assets, current liabilities, and the number of days in a year. The formula to calculate DWC is: DWC = (Current Assets – Current Liabilities) / (Total Revenue / 365).

As of December 31, 2020, Amazon’s current assets were $63.4 billion, and its current liabilities were $37.3 billion. According to their 2020 Annual Report, Amazon’s total revenue for the year was $386 billion. Using this information, we can calculate Amazon’s DWC to be:

(63.4 – 37.3) / (386 / 365) = 26.1 days

It is difficult to compare Amazon’s DWC ratio to that of its competitors without specific information on their current assets, current liabilities and revenue. However, by comparing Amazon’s ratio to the industry average can give us an idea of the company’s performance. The retail industry average DWC is around 35-40 days, according to some sources. Amazon DWC is significantly lower,which means company is managing their working capital efficiently and able to quickly convert their short-term assets into cash and pay off short-term liabilities.

Comparing this ratio to the industry average is important because it gives a benchmark for how well the company is managing its short-term finances compared to others in the same industry. A company with a DWC ratio that is significantly lower than the industry average could indicate that the company is effectively managing its short-term assets and liabilities and may be in a better financial position than its competitors. On the other hand, a company with a ratio significantly higher than the industry average could indicate that the company is struggling to manage its short-term finances and may be in a weaker financial position than its competitors.

A well-managed supply chain can come into play here by allowing a company to efficiently manage its inventory and accounts payable. A company with a well-managed supply chain will be able to quickly turn over its inventory and efficiently pay its accounts payable, which will result in a lower DWC ratio. Amazon is well known for its efficient supply chain management. It has implemented a system known as “Fulfillment by Amazon” (FBA), which allows third-party sellers to store their products in Amazon’s warehouses and have them fulfilled by Amazon when they are sold. This reduces the amount of inventory that the third-party sellers have to hold and allows them to free up working capital that can be used for other purposes. Additionally, Amazon’s use of data analytics and artificial intelligence in its supply chain management allows it to accurately forecast demand for products, which helps the company to maintain optimal inventory levels and avoid stockouts or overstocking.

In conclusion, Amazon DWC is 26.1 days, which is lower than industry average of 35-40 days. This indicates that the company is effectively managing its short-term assets and liabilities, and is in a better financial position than many of its competitors. The company’s well-managed supply chain has played a major role in this by allowing it to efficiently manage inventory and accounts payable, which ultimately results in a lower DWC ratio.

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