Global Shipping & Receiving
Diagram Assignment β How to Do It Right
The TLMT200 Week 6 assignment looks simple on paper β pick a company, draw a diagram, describe the flow. But most students stall out trying to figure out where to start, what diagram to use, and how to tie it all together in a 3β4 page paper that actually hits the rubric. This guide walks you through every section, in the order you should write them.
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Get Assignment Help βWhat the Assignment Is Actually Asking You to Do
Select a real company with global or international shipping and receiving operations that has been active from 2020 to the present. Then produce a 3β4 page paper that explains the company’s background, maps its role in the retail supply chain with a diagram, visualizes its shipping and receiving operations as a process flow, and identifies three operational problems along with three practical solutions β all in APA format.
At first glance, that sounds like five separate tasks shoved into one assignment. It is. But they connect. The background tells the reader who the company is. The supply chain diagram places the company in its larger context. The process flow zooms in on how goods actually move. The problems and solutions show you can think critically β not just describe.
The assignment references two specific pages in Hugos’ Managing the Supply Chain textbook. Page 20 shows an example of a retail supply chain diagram. Page 166 shows a process flow example. You are not required to copy those diagrams. You are being pointed to them so you understand the level of specificity expected. A hand-drawn image pasted into Word is fine. A clean PowerPoint shape diagram copied into your document is better. The point is to show you understand the flow, not to test your design skills.
One thing most students miss: the instructor’s note says to reach out to the company through their “Contact Us” page. This is not just a suggestion. It signals that the assignment expects real engagement with the company β not just a Wikipedia summary. Even if nobody replies, the fact that you tried (and can mention it briefly) shows initiative. It also helps when you get to the problems and solutions section, because you might actually get useful information back.
Company Background
Purpose, history, web link, and their role in global logistics. This is your opening section.
Retail Supply Chain Diagram
Where does the company sit β manufacturer, distributor, retailer? Show it visually and explain it.
Shipping & Receiving Flow
The step-by-step movement of goods. Origin β transport β customs β warehouse β delivery.
3 Problems + 3 Solutions
Identify real operational challenges and propose realistic, evidence-backed solutions.
Chapter 10 of the Hugos Textbook β What to Actually Pull From It
Chapter 10 of Hugos covers managing global supply chains β the specific challenges companies face when sourcing, shipping, and receiving goods across borders. As you read it, pay attention to how Hugos discusses lead times, customs complexity, currency risk, and coordination across time zones. These themes map directly to the “problems” section of your paper. When you cite the textbook in your paper, cite it as: Hugos, M. H. (2006). Essentials of supply chain management (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Adjust the edition and year to match your actual copy.
The Rubric, Broken Down β Know Where Your Points Are
The Diagram Assignment Rubric for TLMT200 is worth 10 points total. Five criteria, 2 points each. None of them are vague if you read them carefully. Let’s look at what each one is actually checking.
Notice that “Problems / Issues” appears as a standalone rubric criterion β and it is worth the same two points as the diagram itself. Students often spend 80% of their time on the company background and rush through the problems section. That is a mistake. Budget your writing time to reflect the rubric weighting, not your personal interest level.
The “Clear & Concise” criterion is not a bonus β it is a deduction risk
If your paper reads like a company brochure or a copied Wikipedia entry, you will lose points here. The grader wants to see that you processed and synthesized information β not that you can copy-paste from a company’s “About Us” page. Your voice needs to show up in the writing. Short sentences are fine. Direct statements are better than hedged ones. “Nike uses ocean freight from Asian factories to US distribution centers” is cleaner than “Nike’s global operations have been noted to make use of a variety of ocean-based freight solutions for the transportation of goods.”
How to Choose Your Company β And Why It Matters More Than You Think
The company you pick determines how easy or difficult every other section will be. Pick a company with rich, publicly available information about its supply chain, and you’ll have plenty to work with. Pick a niche manufacturer with no English-language logistics documentation, and you’ll spend three hours trying to find two facts.
The assignment requires that the company has global or international shipping and receiving operations and has been in operation from 2020 to the present. That eliminates companies that shut down or paused global operations during or after COVID. Many did. So check that any company you’re considering has active international operations right now.
What Makes a Good Company Pick for This Assignment
| Company Type | Why It Works Well | What to Watch For |
|---|---|---|
| Large Retailers (Walmart, Target, IKEA) | Extensive public supply chain documentation; annual reports; case studies in logistics literature | Very broad operations β you’ll need to narrow your diagram to one product line or region |
| E-commerce Giants (Amazon, Alibaba) | Well-documented global fulfillment networks; diagrams exist in business literature | Extremely complex β easy to get lost. Scope down to one geography or category |
| Logistics Providers (DHL, FedEx, Maersk) | These companies ARE the supply chain. Their operations are the topic itself | You’ll need to pick a specific service or route β not describe every service globally |
| Brand Manufacturers (Nike, Apple, Samsung) | Clear sourcing-to-retail flows; known factory locations; documented port operations | Manufacturing details sometimes proprietary β use published sources, not guesses |
| Food & Beverage (NestlΓ©, Starbucks, Tyson) | Interesting cold-chain considerations; sustainability reporting often detailed | Perishable goods add complexity β make sure you can describe that without oversimplifying |
A practical tip: before you commit to a company, search for its name plus “supply chain” or “annual report” or “logistics operations” in Google. If you get useful results in under five minutes, it’s a workable pick. If you’re hitting paywalls and finding nothing but press releases, move on.
You also need a working web link. This is in the instructions. The company’s main website works β but if you can link directly to their “About Us,” “Our Business,” or “Supply Chain” page, that’s more useful and shows you actually looked.
Use Your Library Database β Not Just Google
The assignment specifically says to use your online library and/or the internet. Your school’s library database likely has access to Business Source Complete or IBISWorld β both of which have industry and company profiles that describe supply chain operations in exactly the kind of structured language you need for this paper. Search the company name in those databases first. What you find there will be more citable and more accurate than anything on the company’s own website.
Writing the Background & Purpose Section β What to Include and What to Skip
This is your opening section. It is worth 2 rubric points. It should be one to two paragraphs, not four. The goal is to tell the grader: who this company is, what it does, when it started (or when its global operations began), and why it’s relevant to a discussion of international shipping and receiving.
What you do not need here: the full history of the company’s founding, every country it operates in, its stock price, or its CEO’s biography. None of that scores points. What does score points is demonstrating that you understand the company’s role in global logistics β not just that it’s big and well-known.
What a Strong Background Section Looks Like β Structural Example
Background & PurposeA strong background paragraph for this assignment does three things in roughly this order:
Sentence 3: Mention when global/international operations began or expanded (e.g., after a key acquisition, or by noting it has been operating globally since before 2020).
Sentence 4: State one specific fact about its logistics scale or network (number of distribution centers, countries served, volume of goods moved annually).
Sentence 5: Provide the web link and note that additional operational detail is available there or in the company’s published reports.
Then a second, shorter paragraph can explain the purpose of the paper β what you’ll be diagramming, what operations you’ll focus on, and what problems you identified. Think of this as your thesis paragraph. It orients the reader. It tells them what the next three pages are going to do.
The web link goes in the body of the paper as part of the background section, not just in the reference list. The instructor’s instructions are explicit on this. In APA format, a URL in running text looks like this: “According to the company’s official website (https://www.company.com), FedEx operates in more than 220 countries and territories.” That satisfies the requirement and gives you an in-text citation at the same time.
The Retail Supply Chain Diagram β What It Is and How to Build One
This is the first diagram required by the assignment, and it answers a specific question: where does your company sit within the broader retail supply chain? The textbook’s page 20 example shows a chain that typically flows from raw material suppliers β manufacturers β distributors β retailers β consumers. Your job is to draw that chain for your chosen company β and mark where it fits.
Not every company is a retailer. Some are logistics providers who sit between multiple nodes. Some are manufacturers who sell directly to consumers. The diagram you create needs to reflect reality, not a generic template.
The Basic Structure of a Retail Supply Chain Diagram
| Supply Chain Node | What It Represents | Example Entities |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 / Raw Material Suppliers | Companies providing raw inputs (fabric, steel, chemicals, agricultural goods) | Cotton farms in India, lithium mines in Chile, oil refineries |
| Tier 1 / Component Manufacturers | Companies that assemble components from raw materials | Foxconn (electronics), Yue Yuen (footwear), BASF (chemicals) |
| Finished Goods Manufacturers | Final assembly and packaging into sellable product | Nike factories in Vietnam, Apple suppliers in Taiwan |
| Freight / Ocean / Air Carriers | International transport β ocean containers, air freight, rail | Maersk, MSC, DHL, UPS Air Freight |
| Ports & Customs | Entry and exit points, customs clearance, duties, inspections | Port of Los Angeles, Port of Rotterdam, Nairobi Port |
| Distribution Centers / Warehouses | Intermediate storage and sortation before delivery | Amazon fulfillment centers, Walmart regional DCs |
| Retailers / End Customers | The final point of sale β physical or e-commerce | Walmart stores, Amazon.com, Nike direct-to-consumer |
Your diagram does not need to be elaborate. Boxes connected by arrows β showing the flow of goods from left to right or top to bottom β is sufficient. What matters is the written discussion that follows it. The discussion should explain: what is moving between each node, who controls each step, and how your chosen company fits into or manages those connections.
Tools for Creating the Diagram
You don’t need expensive software. Any of these work:
- Microsoft PowerPoint or Word SmartArt β Insert β SmartArt β Process. Then screenshot and paste into your Word document.
- Lucidchart (free tier) β drag-and-drop flowchart builder, export as image.
- draw.io (completely free, browser-based) β same concept, exports to PNG.
- Google Slides β shapes and connectors, screenshot into Word.
How to Label Your Diagram for Full Credit
Every box in the diagram should have a label. Every arrow should have a brief descriptor β what is flowing along that path? Goods? Data? Money? All three? Below the diagram, include a figure caption: Figure 1. Retail supply chain for [Company Name]. Then in your written discussion, reference the figure by number: “As shown in Figure 1, Nike’s supply chain begins with raw material sourcing in⦔ This is standard APA figure formatting and shows your grader you know how to present visual data professionally.
The diagram is worth two points, but the discussion of what’s in the diagram is what tells the grader you actually understand it β not just that you know how to draw boxes.
β How to read the Diagram & Discussion rubric criterionThe Shipping & Receiving Process Flow β Zooming In on the Operations
This is the second diagram, and it works differently from the supply chain diagram. Where the supply chain diagram shows the big-picture structure β all the players and how they connect β the process flow zooms into the actual operational steps of getting goods from one point to another. The Hugos textbook page 166 example is a process flow: sequential steps, decision points, inputs and outputs at each stage.
Think of it this way. The supply chain diagram shows you the highway system. The process flow shows you what happens at each on-ramp and off-ramp. A truck doesn’t just appear at a distribution center β it was loaded, weighed, inspected, registered, dispatched, tracked, received, unloaded, sorted, and put away. That sequence of events is what a process flow captures.
What a Shipping & Receiving Process Flow Should Show
Order Placement / Purchase Order Generation
Where does the movement begin? Usually a purchase order from a buyer to a supplier. For international operations, this includes currency, payment terms, and lead time negotiation.
In your diagram: show who generates the order and who receives it. Label what information flows at this step.
Supplier Preparation & Packaging
The supplier manufactures and packages the goods to shipping specifications. For international shipments, packaging must meet destination country requirements β labeling language, hazardous materials declarations, ISPM 15 compliance for wood packaging.
In your diagram: show this as a step with a decision point β what happens if goods fail quality inspection? Do they get reworked or rejected?
Export Documentation & Customs Clearance (Origin Country)
Before goods leave the origin country, a commercial invoice, bill of lading, packing list, and certificate of origin must be prepared. Export customs clearance is required in most countries. This step often has the longest variability β a single documentation error can hold a shipment for days.
In your diagram: show the documentation as inputs to the customs step. A decision diamond works here: “Customs Cleared?” β Yes: proceed. No: hold and correct.
International Transport β Ocean, Air, or Rail
The main leg of the journey. For most global supply chains, ocean freight is the backbone β slower but cheaper. Air freight is used for high-value, time-sensitive, or small-volume goods. Show which mode your company uses and why.
In your diagram: label the mode of transport, the origin port or airport, and the destination port or airport.
Import Customs Clearance (Destination Country)
Goods arriving at the destination port must clear customs. This involves duty payment, tariff classification, and potentially physical inspection by customs authorities. In the US, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) manages this. Import clearance can take hours or weeks depending on the commodity, origin country, and accuracy of documentation.
In your diagram: this is another decision point. “Import Cleared?” β Yes: move to warehouse. No: hold for inspection, pay fines, or return.
Receiving at the Distribution Center or Warehouse
Goods arrive at the company’s (or third-party) distribution center. Receiving involves unloading, count verification against the purchase order, condition inspection, and inventory entry into the warehouse management system (WMS).
In your diagram: show the receiving steps as sequential boxes. Flag what happens when quantities don’t match the PO β this is a common real-world problem worth noting in your discussion.
Storage, Sortation, and Outbound Dispatch
Goods are stored, picked, sorted, and dispatched to the next point β whether that’s another warehouse, a retail store, or an end customer. For e-commerce companies, this is where the “last mile” begins. For retail supply chains, this is where truck routes to stores are planned and executed.
In your diagram: this is where your process flow ends β or loops back to step 1 for replenishment orders. Show it clearly as the terminal point.
The written discussion for this diagram should walk through each step and describe what is flowing β physical goods, documents, data, payments. The assignment instructions say: “include your personal description of what is flowing from one point to the next point.” That phrase is doing a lot of work. It means each arrow in your diagram needs a text explanation, not just a label.
Identifying 3 Operational Problems β How to Think About This Section
This section trips up a lot of students because they treat “problems” as a list of general complaints about global shipping. Port congestion, COVID disruptions, fuel costs β those are real problems, but if you just list them without connecting them to your specific company, you won’t score well.
Every problem you identify needs to be specific to the company’s operations. That means you need to know enough about how the company actually ships and receives goods to say where the friction is. This is why company selection matters. If you picked a company with publicly documented supply chain challenges β and most large companies have them β you have real material to work with.
Where to Find Real Operational Problems
News & Trade Press
Search the company name plus “supply chain disruption,” “shipping delays,” “logistics problems,” or “import issues” in Google News or your library database.
Annual Reports
Publicly traded companies must disclose material risks to investors. The “Risk Factors” section of a 10-K is a goldmine for supply chain problems.
Academic Case Studies
Business school case studies (Harvard Business Review, INSEAD) often analyze supply chain failures at major companies. Check your library database.
Government & Industry Reports
The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals publish data on freight disruptions that you can connect to specific companies.
Types of Problems Worth Writing About
According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) β the primary professional body for logistics and supply chain management in the United States β the most persistent operational challenges in global supply chains include inventory visibility gaps, customs compliance failures, carrier capacity shortages, and last-mile delivery cost volatility. Their State of Logistics Report, published annually, provides data you can cite directly (cscmp.org). Using a source like CSCMP to contextualize your company’s problems lifts the paper above basic description.
| Problem Category | What It Looks Like in Practice | How to Make It Company-Specific |
|---|---|---|
| Supply Chain Visibility | Company cannot track goods in real-time between origin factory and destination DC | Name the leg of the journey where tracking fails; note if the company has acknowledged this in reporting |
| Customs Compliance & Delays | Documentation errors, tariff classification disputes, or physical inspections that delay clearance | Reference specific trade routes or countries where the company has had customs issues |
| Carrier Capacity & Rate Volatility | Insufficient ocean or air freight capacity during peak seasons; unpredictable shipping rates | Note if the company relies heavily on spot market rates vs. contracted capacity; COVID period data helps here |
| Port Congestion | Long dwell times at origin or destination ports, particularly at major hubs like LA/Long Beach or Rotterdam | Connect to specific product lines or seasons where congestion hit the company hardest |
| Inventory Mismatch | Overstock or stockout at distribution centers because demand forecasting and shipping lead times aren’t aligned | If the company has publicly reported write-downs or stockouts, cite those directly |
| Sustainability & Compliance | Regulatory pressure on carbon emissions, packaging requirements, or sourcing standards in specific countries | Note any specific regulation (EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, US forced labor import bans) that affects the company |
Frame Problems as Operational, Not Political
The assignment is about logistics, not geopolitics. If you write “the company has problems because of trade wars,” that’s too vague and reads as editorial opinion. Reframe it: “The company faces tariff cost increases on goods imported from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which added a 25% duty on approximately [X]% of its product line β directly increasing landed cost and compressing margins.” Now it’s an operational problem with specificity. That’s what scores points.
Writing the Solutions Section β Match the Problem, Support the Solution
Three problems, three solutions. The solutions section is not a separate list β each solution should directly address one of the problems you identified. If problem one is customs documentation errors causing clearance delays, your solution should be about improving documentation processes β not about switching carriers.
Solutions don’t need to be original. They need to be relevant and supported. You’re not inventing a new logistics strategy. You’re applying what the textbook and the literature say works.
What Makes a Strong Solution
- Directly addresses the problem it’s paired with
- Is implementable by the company β not generic advice
- Is supported by a source (textbook, journal, industry report)
- Includes a brief explanation of how it would work in practice
- Acknowledges trade-offs or costs where relevant
What Weakens a Solution
- “The company should improve communication” β too vague
- A solution that doesn’t match the problem stated
- No citation or supporting evidence
- Suggesting technology without explaining how it solves the problem
- Copying a solution from the company’s own press releases
A solution paragraph should be three to five sentences. First sentence: restate the problem briefly. Second sentence: state the proposed solution. Third and fourth sentences: explain the mechanism β how specifically does this solution address the root cause of the problem? Final sentence: cite a source that supports this approach or provides evidence of its effectiveness in similar contexts.
Strong vs. Weak Solution Writing β Side-by-Side Example
Solutions SectionWeak version:
“The company should use better technology to track shipments and improve supply chain visibility. This will help reduce delays and improve customer satisfaction.”
Strong version: “To address the gap in shipment visibility between the origin factory in Vietnam and the US distribution center, the company could implement an IoT-based container tracking system that provides GPS position and temperature data at 15-minute intervals. Hugos (2006) notes that real-time visibility tools reduce the frequency of expediting decisions and lower the cost of safety stock by enabling earlier response to delays. Several major ocean carriers, including Maersk, now offer container tracking APIs that integrate with enterprise WMS platforms β making implementation feasible without building custom infrastructure.”
The strong version is five sentences. It names a specific technology, explains the mechanism, cites a source, and grounds the solution in current market reality. That is what earns full credit.
APA Formatting for This Assignment β What You Actually Need
The instructions say: title page, in-text citations, and reference page in APA style. The title and reference pages don’t count toward the 3β4 page body. That means your paper’s actual content needs to fill three to four pages β roughly 750 to 1,000 words, plus diagrams.
Title Page
Standard APA 7th edition title page format:
Line 2: Your name
Line 3: Institution (your university/college name)
Line 4: Course name and number (TLMT200)
Line 5: Instructor’s name
Line 6: Due date
In-Text Citations You Will Need
| Source Type | APA In-Text Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hugos textbook | (Hugos, 2006, p. X) for direct quotes; (Hugos, 2006) for paraphrases | Supply chain visibility reduces inventory costs (Hugos, 2006). |
| Company website | (Company Name, year) β use year of the page if available, or n.d. if not | (Nike, Inc., 2024) or (Nike, Inc., n.d.) |
| News article | (Author Last Name, year) | (Johnson, 2023) |
| Industry report (CSCMP) | (CSCMP, year) | (CSCMP, 2024) |
| Annual report / 10-K | (Company Name, year) | (Amazon.com, Inc., 2024) |
Reference Page Entries
Hugos, M. H. (2006). Essentials of supply chain management (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Company website:
Nike, Inc. (2024). Nike purpose β supply chain. https://purpose.nike.com/supply-chain
CSCMP industry report:
Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. (2024). 30th annual state of logistics report. https://cscmp.org
News article:
Johnson, A. (2023, March 15). Port congestion drives up shipping costs for US importers. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/[article-url]
Page Count β What Counts and What Doesn’t
The assignment says 3β4 pages. The title page and reference page are excluded from that count β the instructions state this explicitly. Diagrams count as part of the page total as long as they are embedded in the body of the paper with discussion around them. A diagram that takes up a full page with no text on that page probably isn’t helping your page count β embed diagrams within the text, not on isolated pages. If your diagrams are small, you can place them side by side or size them to fit within the text flow. The goal is a paper that reads as an integrated document, not a diagram dump with some text thrown in.
FAQs β Questions Students Ask About This Assignment
A Practical Order of Operations for This Assignment
If you sit down and try to write this paper from the title page forward, you’ll stall. The background section is hard to write well until you’ve done the research. The diagrams are hard to create until you understand the company’s actual operations. Here’s a more effective sequence:
Pick the company first
Before you write a word, confirm your company is researchable. Find five real sources. If you can’t, pick a different company.
Read Chapter 10 of Hugos
You’ll cite it. You should understand it. Note page numbers for concepts you’ll use in problems and solutions.
Draft both diagrams before you write the text
Once you have the diagrams sketched out, the written sections almost write themselves. The diagrams clarify your own thinking as much as they explain it to the grader.
Write problems and solutions before background
This is counterintuitive, but problems are the hardest section. Write them while your research is freshest, then go back and write the easier background section.
Assemble in order, then proofread once as a whole
Put the sections in the correct order, check that each section references the diagrams properly, and run a final proofread for the grammar criterion. Don’t skip this β two easy points are at stake.
The TLMT200 Week 6 assignment is manageable when you break it into its components. The diagrams are not there to test your art skills β they’re there to test whether you can visualize a system. The problems and solutions are not there to make you look critical β they’re there to test whether you can analyze operations beyond a surface-level description. If you approach it that way, the paper writes itself from the research you’ve already done.
If you’re stuck, short on time, or want professional eyes on your work before submission, the supply chain assignment specialists at Smart Academic Writing work with TLMT200 students regularly. You can also explore support for related logistics and project management coursework through the project management writing services page.