1. Introduction

As we close in on a decade of internet-based market globalization, international experience is now no longer just an advantage. It is a core necessity for recognition as a high-quality, well-paid employee. To obtain the needed international exposure before employment, students are encouraged to work overseas during their semester break, spend a semester or a year studying at a university abroad, and, as done in this assignment, collaborate electronically across the oceans via the internet.

The faculty at Morehead State University (Prof. Dr. George Kelley) and Munich University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Dr. Georg Peters) have agreed to integrate an international globalization component in their course work. They have set up a joint student project in the field of Business Administration and Information Systems. Each university student team will play the role of representatives for their employers, two global companies in the automotive industry. The Morehead University team will represent a global automotive assembly plant with an innovative product line. The Munich University team will take the role of a global supplier of high-performance automobile engines. The overall objective of the teams is to establish a basic understanding of how the two companies could collaborate and conduct business electronically via the internet. The specific tasks to be completed by the teams are given below. The two teams must each complete a set of tasks a week. The project runs for 5 weeks, from October 20, 2003 to November 21, 2003.

2. Project Background

MoreCar, a global manufacturer of high-technology specialty cars, will celebrate its 50^th anniversary in the year 2004. To recognize this milestone, MoreCar is planning to launch a highly innovative car code-named TechnoLux™ The new car will have a new 8.5 liter, 12 cylinder engine than runs on a mixture of coal ash, water, and Bavarian pretzels. The engine outputs an incredible 1035 horsepower (DIN) at only 350 rpm, and offers an astounding 1637 lb-ft of torque (SAE) at 9100 rpm. This revolutionary engine is produced by M³ AG, a renowned global supplier of high-performance car engines.

Company Profiles

MoreCar - Morehead Cars Inc.

o Global Automotive Mfg

o SIC 3711

o Established in 1954

o Employees: 50,000

o Revenues: US$ 10 billion

M³ - Münchener Motoren Manufaktur AG.

o Global Tier 1 Automotive Supplier

o SIC 3519

o Established in 1983

o Employees: 5,000

o Revenues: US$ 1 billion

Because this is the first commercial cooperation between the two companies, they have each set up a carefully selected team tasked with the goal to standardize the electronic processes and interfaces between the companies. You are a member of this prestigious team, and are excited about the visibility and related promotion opportunities it makes available to you. The new car will be announced to the world at Hofbräuhaus in Munich and on Times Square in New York at midnight on January 1, 2004.

This deadline makes the timeline for the project very tight. So far the virtual CEOs of MoreCar and M³, Kelley and Peters, have spared no effort to see the project started. They have played lots of golf and had several expensive dinners in fancy restaurants. They have agreed on every strategic design issue: the color of the car, the layout of the interior, the size of the alloy wheels, and last but not least on the next golf course to play. Only some "details" remain unsolved for the project teams to address. These "details" all relate to how the two teams are to collaborate at the operational level. The one key instruction given by the CEOs is to structure the project deliverables according to a two layer architecture:

o A Business Layer

o An IT Layer

Any "details" related to design of these layers are the responsibility of the project teams. The steering committee, led by Kelley and Peters, has also already agreed on a firm timetable, the core tasks, and the key deliverables of the collaborative project between their companies. These requirements as shown in the next section are not negotiable. They must be delivered by the project team in a timely manner.

3. Project Deliverables and Timetable

	Pre-Project
#	Deliverables MoreCar and M³	Deadline	Status
1	Find and read some background literature on SCM and SCM terminology.	17.Oct.2003
2	Develop a Project Team Profile: · Write a 1-page Project Team Mission Statement. · Identify project roles and responsibilities. · Inventory the educational, technical, and professional background of your team. · Write a Personal Profile (would be nice but is voluntary).	17.Oct.2003
3	Communicate with your team members to identify pre-project tasks and preliminary project team roles and responsibilities.
#	Deliverables M³	Deadline	Status
4	Write an abbreviated, 1-2 page "how-to" manual in English for the "IT Forum" collaborative groupware internet software.	17.Oct.2003

	Week One: Setting up the Project
#	Deliverables - MoreCar and M³	Deadline	Status
5	Become familiar with the "IT Forum" collaborative groupware internet software.	24.Oct.2003
6	Exchange the information developed in the pre-project phase.	24.Oct.2003
7	Exchange information on the specific business processes and necessary technologies and data formats to be supported	24.Oct.2003
8	Start to negotiate a Letter of Understanding for the project.	24.Oct.2003
9	Survey 1 due - Project Team Profile Survey Survey 1 will be made available on 24.Oct.2003.	24.Oct.2003

	Week Two: Letter of Understanding
#	Deliverables MoreCar and M³	Deadline	Status
10	Agree on a Letter of Understanding for the project.	31.Oct.2003
11	Start the details of the inter-company business processes.	31.Oct.2003
12	Survey 2 due – Letter of Understanding Survey Survey 2 will be made available on 31.Oct.2003.	31.Oct.2003

	Week Three: Business Layer
#	Deliverables MoreCar and M³	Deadline	Status
13	Agree on the details of the inter-company business processes.	07.Nov.2003
14	Develop the details for the data to be exchanged.	07.Nov.2003
15	Start initial concept for a technical exchange platform	07.Nov.2003
16	Survey 3 due – Business Layer Survey Survey 3 will be made available on 07.Nov.2003.	07.Nov.2003

	Week Four: IT Layer
#	Deliverables MoreCar and M³	Deadline	Status
17	Agree on a concept for the data to be exchanged.	14.Nov.2003
18	Agree on a concept for a technical exchange platform	14.Nov.2003
19	Start Joint Final Project Report & Presentation	14.Nov.2003
20	Survey 4 due – Technical Layer Survey Survey 4 will be made available on 14.Nov.2003.	14.Nov.2003

	Week Five: Final Project Report
#	Deliverables MoreCar and M³	Deadline	Status
21	Agree on a Joint Final Project Report and Presentation	21.Nov.2003
22	Survey 5 due – Overall Project Survey Survey 5 will be made available on 21.Nov.2003. Final Project Report and Survey Results	21.Nov.2003

	Week Six: Post Project Report
#	Deliverables MoreCar and M³
23	Final Project Report and Survey Results

4. Collaboration Parameters

Because the companies have to reduce costs, the project team has to be very effective in its collaboration efforts. The mode, depth, and frequency of the collaboration is the greatest challenge and risk of the project. To make it easy for the two teams, allowed and forbidden communication means are specified below. Always keep in mind that it is six hours later in the day in Germany than on the East Coast of the US.

Allowed:

o Email.

o IT Forum postings - http://www.it-forum.fhm.edu/

o Internet chat, VoIP, or videoIP.

Forbidden:

o Use of university phones.

o Travel for personal meetings and workshops, e.g. in airport lounges or anywhere else (Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, etc.).

5. Conclusion

As your virtual CEOs, we want you to be successful. So, work hard, learn, have fun, and help raise the stock price of our companies (and incidentally help vest of our luxurious stock options and ensure our comfortable retirement!). Good Luck!

/s/ George Kelley and Georg Peters