Research Proposal Template

The first task that you will need to complete is the outline and proposal of your Postgraduate Major Project. This is an important road map for the entire project and needs a great deal of care and consideration. The Research Proposal will give you and your supervisor a clear perspective of the research project. Students are required to present the outline of proposal at the first group supervision meeting. Please note that if you do not present Research Proposal your grade of the Major Project will be reduced of 5 points.

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Proposed research topic Please provideyour topic and summarise in one paragraph what your dissertation will be about.	An analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic on the implementation of digitalisation in supply chain management Dissertation summary The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic created potential obstacles for the businesses in terms of continuing their regular operations and activities. The consideration of worldwide lockdown also created the attributes of supply chain delays due to the lack of availability of raw materials. In this regard, the businesses have looked forward to digitalise their supply chain operations as an integral part of maintaining their regular activities. For example, the context of a renowned UK retail supermarket Sainsbury’s can be taken into account. The company has paid attention to digitalise their supply chain management with a focus on transformation by partnering with blue Yonder (Pace, 2020). The end-to-end supply chain strategy of the organisation has been empowered with the combination of a single artificial intelligence-powered platform. As a result of this, the company was able to achieve increasing supply chain capabilities with advanced demand forecasting and replenishment activities supported with digital control. This evidence signifies positive implications of digitalised supply chain in Sainsbury’s based on which their financial performance has been improved. The company obtained around 28.6 million GBP annual retail sales despite experiencing the toxic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in the financial year 2020-21 (Bedford, 2022). With regards to this concern, the dissertation will focus on highlighting the implications of digitalised supply chain resulted due to Covid-19. References Bedford, E., (2022). Annual retail sales of Sainsbury’s in the United Kingdom (UK) from financial year 2008/09 to 2021/22 [Online]. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/386342/sainsburys-retail-sales-united-kingdom-uk/> [Accessed 17 February 2023] Pace, G. S., (2020). Sainsbury’s chooses Blue Yonder to transform supply chain [Online]. Available at: <https://supplychaindigital.com/digital-supply-chain/sainsburys-chooses-blue-yonder-transform-supply-chain> [Accessed 17 February 2023]
Research question State your research question and what is it that you are wishing to find outas a result of your research?	· How Covid-19 pandemic entitled the preference of digitalisation in supply chain management? · What technologies are deployed by the businesses in the supply chain? As a result of this research, prime focus would be kept on finding the outcomes of digital supply chain on the businesses due to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Literature review What are the key theories and concepts are relevant to your chosen topic? (You can include the classics, landmarks andmost recent development theories in your topic area).	Key theoretical understanding to be considered for this study purpose would include network perspective theory. The theoretical understanding highlights the interrelation and explanations of internet works of supply chain management which are accessible for facilitating connections between all operational levels. Apart from that, the strategic choice theory of supply chain would also be considered. This theory highlights the consequences of making rightful decisions on the supply chain as an integral part of continuing business operations.
List of academic sources Write down at least 10 academic sources (e.g. academic journal articles, books) (no websites)you plan to use in literature review referenced according to the Harvard format.	Pujawan, I.N. and Bah, A.U., (2022), January. Supply chains under COVID-19 disruptions: literature review and research agenda. In Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal (Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 81-95). Taylor & Francis. Tasnim, Z.E.R.I.N., (2020). Disruption in global Food Supply Chain (FSCs) due to Covid-19 pandemic and impact of digitalization through block chain technology in FSCs management. European Journal of Business and Management, 12(17), pp.73-84. Nandi, S., Sarkis, J., Hervani, A.A. and Helms, M.M., (2021). Redesigning supply chains using blockchain-enabled circular economy and COVID-19 experiences. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, pp.10-22. Trabucco, M. and De Giovanni, P., (2021). Achieving resilience and business sustainability during COVID-19: The role of lean supply chain practices and digitalization. Sustainability, 13(22), p.12369. Munien, I. and Telukdarie, A., (2021). COVID-19 supply chain resilience modelling for the dairy industry. Procedia Computer Science, 180, pp.591-599. Zhang, H., (2021), September. Blockchain facilitates a resilient supply chain in steel manufacturing under covid-19. In 22nd European conference on knowledge management, ECKM 2021. Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited (pp. 964-972). Končar, J., Grubor, A., Marić, R., Vučenović, S. and Vukmirović, G., (2020). Setbacks to IoT implementation in the function of FMCG supply chain sustainability during COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 12(18), p.7391. Oikawa, K., Todo, Y., Ambashi, M., Kimura, F. and Urata, S., (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on Business Activities and Supply Chains in the ASEAN Member States and India. ERIA Discussion Paper Series, (384), pp.40-59. Gupta, A. and Singh, R.K., (2021). Applications of emerging technologies in logistics sector for achieving circular economy goals during COVID 19 pandemic: analysis of critical success factors. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, pp.1-22. Singh, R., Centobelli, P. and Cerchione, R., (2022). Digitization of information sharing to minimize the impact of COVID-19 in the food supply chain. In Handbook of Research on the Platform Economy and the Evolution of E-Commerce (pp. 251-272). IGI Global.
Direction of research methodology Describe and explain: (1) what data you will use (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) and where you will get it (e.g. through company annual reports, government publications, Osiris, United Nations statistics); (2) what method you will use to analyse and present your data; (3) what are the advantages and limitations of your chosen data and method. You should NOT include things that you will not use (e.g.phenomenologies, research onions, inductivism)	1. Qualitative methodology would be followed by the researcher in order to proceed with this study. The secondary data collection method would be preferred in order to collect valuable research information. Different secondary data sources such as official websites of organisations, news articles covering relevant news about supply chain digitalisation, Google Scholar, government publications and others would be considered for data collection. 2. In order to analyse and present research data, the secondary qualitative method would be applied, which is also known as thematic analysis. A range of different themes would be created through this method in order to answer the research questions by addressing subsequent objectives. 3. Prime advantage of secondary data collection highlights its cost and time-effective nature. The drawback of this method highlights the possibility of occurring outdated data in case of considering comparatively older sources. The benefit of using thematic analysis method highlights the achievement of greater flexibility that enables the researcher to consider various directions of the research with comparatively large data sets and evidence. The drawback of this method highlights the possibility of leading towards inconsistency along with incoherent research outcomes. The plus point of using qualitative methodology highlights to explore the behaviour in an in-depth manner that can provide adequate flexibility in a research. However, the setback of qualitative research includes the possibilities of inaccurate data, bias in the sample selection and others.