Deck 20: Purchasing and Supply Strategy Trends

Question 1

Companies will decreasingly use value-focused sourcing approaches to evaluate how a supplier or group of suppliers may be utilized to gain competitive advantage for categories with high business impact.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Firms, not supply chains, compete.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Overall, future purchasing and supply mission and goals will be narrower and less aligned with the strategic objectives of the firm.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The overall purpose of a purchase category strategy is to maximize value to the buyer, but not the supplier, by leveraging only internal company, and not external supplier, resources and capabilities.

Question 5

Perhaps the most obvious area where firms are concentrating their time-reduction efforts is during new-product and process development along with achieving innovation.

Question 6

Wall Street recognizes and rewards firms that achieve higher return-on-investment.

Question 7

The supply base will be viewed not only as tier one suppliers but also as supply networks that extend beyond the tier one suppliers.

Question 8

Purchasing will play a lesser role in time-based competition because of its inability to affect time-related processes and activities.

Question 9

An individual supplier focus (as opposed to a supply network focus) for category strategy development will be increasingly applied.

Question 10

Category strategies will become less complex, requiring only internal and functional executive engagement, including review and approval.

Question 11

Purchasing and supply will be expected to play a growing role in sustainability efforts of the firms, many of which closely involve suppliers.

Question 12

Technology and supplier selection discussion during new-product development have minimal effect on cost, quality, and product/service launch, as well as future production.

Question 13

Providing ongoing purchase price and cost reduction, combined with quality and delivery performance improvement, is the maximum contribution expected of purchasing and supply.

Question 14

Outsourcing will likely continue, although firms will be carefully examining and sometimes rebalancing their insourcing/outsourcing patterns.

Question 15

Leading sustainability efforts with suppliers and their suppliers will decrease in importance.

Question 16

Strategic working relationships between buyers and suppliers will not have to change for increased value creation.

Question 17

Big data and analytics will play an increasingly important role in purchasing and supply chain management.

Question 18

Big data combined with the capabilities of analytical tools combined with high talent people will further improve supply analyses and decision-making across many areas.

Question 19

Competition is no longer between fast and agile and slow firms but between big and small firms.

Question 20

Time-related capabilities will drive the next generation of order winners in the eyes of the customer.

Question 21

External collaboration will signal a shift from cooperation to pure competition for some segments of a company's supply base.

Question 22

The currently dominant decentralized model for supply management will continue to be a key strategy and likely the norm for the foreseeable future.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a reason why an emphasis on outsourcing will continue?

A) High transportation costs will force manufacturers to only produce internally.
B) Cost-reduction pressures will continue and are forcing organizations to use their productive resources most efficiently.
C) Firms will increasingly focus more on what they excel at to gain competitive advantage along with outsourcing noncompetitive activities related to both production and administration.
D) The need for customer responsiveness is increasingly causing companies to decide how best to achieve greater flexibility and shorter lead times.Wall Street recognizes and rewards firms that achieve higher return-on-investment.
E)

Question 24

Given the global nature of many businesses, especially where customer growth is coming from new and emerging markets, there is an increasing need for a centralized focus to meet unique customer needs.

Question 25

The purpose of [a] _____ is to maximize value to the buyer and supplier by leveraging both internal company and external supplier resources and capabilities.

A) purchase category strategy
B) just-in-time manufacturing
C) kanban
D) cost reduction
E) None of the above.

Question 26

Cross-functional teams will continue to be important to supply management strategy.

Question 27

Strong hard-side skills, such as a collaborative working style, innovative supply approaches and leadership abilities versus a narrow process view, will be necessary to lead supply efforts and achieve results.

Question 28

Metrics to measure supplier innovation contribution, such as number of new-product/process innovations suggested, product innovations resulting in revenue generation, and number of new patents benefiting the buyer will be broadly implemented.

Question 29

Because of information transparency, product and service innovations from suppliers will be decreasingly important to competitive success.

Question 30

Which of the following is not one of the strong soft-side skills for future supply managers?

A) Collaborative working style.
B) Innovative supply approaches and leadership abilities.
C) Ability to lead virtual, geographically dispersed teams.
D) Cost analytics.
E) All of the above are strong soft-side skills.

Question 31

Which of the following is one of the external forces affecting purchasing and supply management's role and required contributions to a firm's success?

A) Global competition and emerging market growth.
B) Mergers, acquisitions, and supply market consolidation.
C) Technology advances.
D) Increased governmental regulation and social responsibilities.
E) All of the above.

Question 32

Which of the following is a question that companies will need to carefully establish their supply bases?

A) What current and future supplier capabilities are required?
B) How many suppliers are required to support company needs?
C) Should we establish/require specific suppliers at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels?
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 33

All of the following are examples of the future focus on supply chain performance except _____.

A) accelerating and obtaining more innovation from suppliers
B) focusing more and more on day-to-day tactical purchasing activities
C) leveraging supplier capabilities and know-how to establish new sources of revenue
D) identifying and mitigating supply risks of any kind to ensure business continuity
E) expanding the breadth and depth of cost management efforts

Question 34

Globalization will require that companies develop specific and tailored approaches to identify and hire foreign nationals.

Question 35

Which of the following is not one of the components of material ordering cycle time that supply chain management practices directly affect?

A) Transmission of requirements to suppliers.
B) Suppliers' ordering and manufacturing cycle time.
C) Allocation of manufacturing overhead costs.
D) Delivery from suppliers.
E) Incoming receipt and inspection.

Question 36

Which of the following statements is Falseregarding category strategy?

A) Companies, in the future, will look beyond cost, quality and delivery as purchase category strategy goals.
B) Companies will increasingly use value-focused sourcing approaches to evaluate how a supplier or group of suppliers may be utilized to gain competitive advantage for categories with high business impact.
C) There will be increasing use of value chain mapping, data analytics to better understand industry trends, cost modeling and scenario planning techniques to develop, evaluate, and select from purchase category strategy alternatives.
D) Establishing core competencies and capabilities has influenced the strategic planning process and category strategy development at most firms.
E) Groups of suppliers (versus supply networks) will become an increasing focus of purchase category strategies.