Question 1

Responsiveness can be defined as the ability to react purposefully and within a(n) _________or changes in the marketplace.
A)Appropriate time scale to customer demand
B)Appropriate value scale to customer demand
C)Flexibility of aggressive supply
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

The responsiveness of supply chains to changing customer requirements and their overall efficiency are important issues in supply chain design and management. Responsiveness can be defined as the ability to react purposefully and within an appropriate time scale to customer demand or changes in the marketplace in order to bring about or uphold competitive advantage.

Question 2

There are several players in the supply chain, and each of them addresses aspects of ___________________.
A)Demand
B)Production
C)Supply management
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

Responsiveness and efficiency are directly and indirectly linked and even include feedback. In supply chains, the relationship between key parts of the system is composite. There are several players in the supply chain, and each addresses aspects of production, demand, supply management, distribution, and planning.

Question 3

In interrelationships forms, it is obvious which combination of ______________ will have the desired effect in the short or long term.
A)Strategic levers
B)Operational levers
C)Both.
D)None of the above.

Accepted Answer

The interrelationships between strategic and operational levers form feedback loops that either amplify or cancel out management initiatives in unintuitive ways. This makes problem solving and decision making difficult because it is not at all obvious which combination of strategic or operational levers will have the desired effect in the short or long term.

Question 4

One practical approach to increase responsiveness could be to raise the _____________ of finished goods or components.
A)Inventory levels
B)Supply levels
C)Demand levels
D)Advertising levels

Accepted Answer

One practical approach to increase responsiveness could be to raise the inventory levels of finished goods or components, which would allow for more elasticity in reactions to changes in customer demand. However, increased inventory levels reduce the efficiency of the supply chain since they are very costly, both in storage cost and cost of capital.

Question 5

Increasing the degree of responsiveness is hard to achieve and typically involves __________________.
A)Trade-off decisions by management.
B)Trade-off decisions by suppliers.
C)Trade-off decisions by consumers.
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

Providing the right degree of responsiveness and having an efficient supply chain at the same time is a goal that is hard to achieve and that typically involves trade-off decisions by management, since increased responsiveness can be perceived to come at the expense of reduced efficiency, and vice versa.

Question 6

The management of supply chain responsiveness is especially important when operating in a competitive market where short customer ___________ are required
A)Lead Times
B)Demand
C)Satisfaction
D)All of the above

Accepted Answer

The management of supply chain responsiveness is especially important when operating in competitive market where short customer lead times are required and not maintaining inventory - which can allow for a fast response - is risky and costly and therefore reduces efficiency.

Question 7

Commodity-like functional products usually require more efficient supply chains, combined with minimization of the ______________.
A)Bullwhip effect
B)Decreased supply effect
C)CRM diminishing
D)All of the above

Accepted Answer

Commodity-like, functional products usually require more efficient supply chains, combined with the minimization of the bullwhip effect. In the high-tech industry, this is complicated by long factor lead times, leading to capacity limitations upstream in the supply chain.

Question 8

Controlling material flow requires what primary method?
A)Manual pull.
B)Automatic pull.
C)Automatic push.
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

Supply chains can react to changes in a product's demand volatility in various ways. For example, in the retail industry, there are three primary methods to control material flow: manual pull, automatic pull, and automatic push.

Question 9

_____________ is where the product is rolled out to the stores based on a central plan that considers experience from the past, information on demography, buyer behavior, product and salvage value, etc..
A)Automatic pull
B)Manual pull
C)Manual push
D)Automatic push

Accepted Answer

Automatic push, where the product is rolled out to the stores based on a central plan that considers experience from the past, information on demography, buyer behavior, product and salvage value, etc.is best suited for the initial ramp-up period. Once demand is more predictable, automatic pull can be used, in which the IT system considers historical demand in the stores to reorder the product.

Question 10

__________ is where individual stores reorder based on the subjective judgments of store management, which can be useful when special influences such as promotions need to be considered.
A)Automatic pull
B)Manual pull
C)Manual push
D)Automatic push

Accepted Answer

Manual pull, where individual stores reorder based on the subjective judgments of store management, can be useful when special influences such as promotions need to be considered. Clearly, there is no "one fits all" approach for successful management of the supply chain, but different strategies are appropriate for different products at different stages of their product life cycles.

Question 11

___________provides a systematic approach to linking cause and effect in complex, dynamic situations.
A)Organizational dynamics
B)System dynamics
C)Consumer dynamics
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

Since supply chain behavior is strongly influenced by feedback and suspensions, system dynamics is the appropriate tool to model supply chain structures. System dynamics provides a systematic approach to linking cause and effect in complex, dynamic situations.

Question 12

With additional functional products, the policies in the supply chain should be designed primarily to supply at the _________.
A)Lowest possible cost
B)Highest possible cost
C)Average cost
D)None of the above.

Accepted Answer

With more functional products, the strategies in the supply chain should be designed mainly to supply at the lowest possible cost. New products require processes that react quickly to changes in demand in order to diminish stock outs and obsolete inventory.

Question 13

In___________, the impact of external effects (for example a strike at a supplier causing a component shortage), is analyzed.
A)Strategic analysis
B)Fundamental analysis
C)Simulation
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

Even though high-tech products are generally considered to be innovative, even within the high-tech sector there are significant differences in demand patterns and forecast stability. Using simulation, the impact of external effects, such as a fire or robbery at a supplier causing a component shortage, is analyzed, as well as the consequences of internal changes in the supply chain structures and policies.

Question 14

__________ is most predictable during the maturity stage of the product life cycle.
A)Supply
B)Risk
C)Demand
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

Demand is most predictable during the maturity stage of the product life cycle, and rapid changes in demand can be observed during a product's initial stage, growth stage, and decline stage.

Question 15

___________ are used to track the efficiency and responsiveness of the modeled supply chain, and include the total inventory cost incurred in the system.
A)Production measures
B)Performance measures
C)Predictability measures
D)Variance measures

Accepted Answer

To assess the quality of policies and structural changes to the model, performance measures have to be used. Performance measures are used to analyze the efficiency and responsiveness of the modeled supply chain, and include the total inventory cost incurred in the system and the achievement of defined targets for order to delivery lead time, delivery routine to customer request, and delivery performance to committed date.

Question 16

The key difference between different planning set-ups in this supply chain model is due to _____________ by the supply chain members.
A)Differences in the decision-making policies
B)Differences in the Customer Relationship Management
C)Difference in SRM
D)None of the above.

Accepted Answer

The key difference between different planning set-ups in this supply chain model is due to differences in the decision-making policies by the supply chain members. Those results affect material orders, production levels, and shipment rates in each phase, and are based on information known to all players in the supply chain.

Question 17

The supply chain often has delays in ___________ due to various conditions.
A)Information processing
B)Production
C)Shipment delays
D)All of the above.

Accepted Answer

The supply chain is sensitive to different conditions and there are several problems that can occur as a result. These include interruptions in production, information processing, and shipment delays, as well as increased lead times, capacity fluctuation, and limitations and external shocks to the supply chain that can happen at board printing and at the supplier.

Quiz 5: Dynamics

Responsiveness can be defined as the ability to react purposefully and within a(n) _________or changes in the marketplace.

There are several players in the supply chain, and each of them addresses aspects of ___________________.

In interrelationships forms, it is obvious which combination of ______________ will have the desired effect in the short or long term.

One practical approach to increase responsiveness could be to raise the _____________ of finished goods or components.

Increasing the degree of responsiveness is hard to achieve and typically involves __________________.

The management of supply chain responsiveness is especially important when operating in a competitive market where short customer ___________ are required

Commodity-like functional products usually require more efficient supply chains, combined with minimization of the ______________.

Controlling material flow requires what primary method?

_____________ is where the product is rolled out to the stores based on a central plan that considers experience from the past, information on demography, buyer behavior, product and salvage value, etc..

__________ is where individual stores reorder based on the subjective judgments of store management, which can be useful when special influences such as promotions need to be considered.

___________provides a systematic approach to linking cause and effect in complex, dynamic situations.

With additional functional products, the policies in the supply chain should be designed primarily to supply at the _________.

In___________, the impact of external effects (for example a strike at a supplier causing a component shortage) , is analyzed.

__________ is most predictable during the maturity stage of the product life cycle.

___________ are used to track the efficiency and responsiveness of the modeled supply chain, and include the total inventory cost incurred in the system.

The key difference between different planning set-ups in this supply chain model is due to _____________ by the supply chain members.

The supply chain often has delays in ___________ due to various conditions.