Deck 3: E-Supply Chain Management: Concepts and Practices

Question 1

Supply chain management is essentially the optimisation of material flows and associated information flows involved with an organisation's operations. To manage these flows, e-business applications are essential to bring such benefits as noted in 'Internet retailing' in 2010 which reported that the average rates of return to a high street retailer could be as high as 10%. What did the same source report as the average rate of return for UK e-commerce sites?

A)15%
B)22%
C)12%
D)18%

Answer 1

22%

Question 2

Supply chain (SC) management involves the coordination of all supply activities of an organisation from its suppliers to the delivery of products to its customers. There are various features associated with this area of e-commerce and which refers to what is known as efficient consumer response (ECR):

A)Creating and satisfying customer demand by optimizing strategies, promotions and product introductions
B)The links between an organisation and all partners involved
C)Transactions between an organisation and its customers and intermediaries
D)None of the above

Answer 2

Creating and satisfying customer demand by optimizing strategies, promotions and product introductions

Question 3

An organisation's supply chain can be viewed from a system's perspective that starts with the acquisition of resources which are then transformed into products or services. Simply, put the sequence is represented:

A)Process - inputs - outputs
B)Sourcing - input - process - outputs
C)Inputs - outputs - process
D)Inputs - process - outputs

Answer 3

Process - inputs - outputs

Question 4

Logistics is an integral part of supply chain management. Which explanation best represents outbound logistics?

A)A supply chain that emphasises distribution of a product to passive customers
B)The management of material resources entering an organisation from its suppliers and other partners
C)An emphasis on using the supply chain to deliver value to customers who are actively involved in product and service specification
D)The management of resources supplied from an organisation to its customers and intermediaries

Question 5

The 'value chain' idea is a concept that has been well established for the past three decades and it refers to considering key activities that an organization can conduct to add value for the customer. It traditionally distinguished between primary activities and support activities. Why is this concept regarded as outdated with the development of e-business?

A)There is a clear distinction between primary and support activities
B)The concept still holds and does not need revision
C)The support activities offer far more than just support
D)Support activities have been subsumed under primary activities

Question 6

A value chain analysis provides an analytical framework for an organisation to examine individual activities and determine value added at each stage. The principles can also be applied to an organisation's external value stream analysis which considers how the whole production and delivery process can be made more efficient. The activities can be categorized into those:

A)All of the below
B)Those required for product development or production systems
C)Those that do not add value
D)That create value as perceived by the customer

Question 7

Improvements in the value chain can be implemented by following Kjellsdotter and Jonsson's iterative planning cycle. Which of the following does not form part of the cycle?

A)Creating a consensus forecast
B)Creating a preliminary delivery plan
C)Creating a preliminary production plan
D)Creating a quality control plan

Question 8

What does the following definition refer to: an organisation which uses communications technology to allow it to operate without clearly define physical boundaries between different functions?

A)Cloud organisation
B)Base-free organisation
C)E-organisation
D)Virtual organisation

Question 9

Using digital communication to improve supply chain efficiency is dependent on effective exchange and sharing of information. The challenges of achieving standardized data formats and data exchange have given rise to the study of the optimisation of the:

A)Virtual integration
B)Information asymmetry
C)Information supply chain
D)Vertical integration

Question 10

The typical benefits of e-supply chain management gained by a B2B company are quite comprehensive. Which of the following is false though?

A)Increased efficiency of individual processes
B)Reduced complexity of the supply chain
C)Increased costs through outsourcing
D)Improved data integration between elements of the supply chain

Question 11

What does a company's information system need to deliver to different parties who need to access the supply chain information of an organisation, whether they be employees, suppliers, logistics service providers or customers?

A)Password and user name reminders
B)Supply chain visibility
C)Radio-frequency identification of products
D)None of the above

Question 12

What was the rationale behind introducing the Global Data Synchronisation Network in 2005?

A)To provide a common pricing structure taking currency fluctuations into account
B)To speed up e-commerce interaction
C)To allow trading partners to manage each other's supply chain
D)To create standards for sharing information about products

Question 13

To manage e-supply chains effectively, benefits need to be developed into a performance management framework. Sambasivan and colleagues (2009) produced such a framework, identifying categories of measures and provided examples of metrics for each. Which of the following fits this framework?

A)Production level metric - range of products and services, effectiveness of scheduling techniques, capacity utilisation
B)Cost in supply chain - return on investment
C)Supply chain finance and logistics cost - total, distribution, manufacturing, and inventory costs
D)They are all accurate

Question 14

Key to re-structuring the supply chain is the need to examine the types of relationships between partners such as suppliers and distributors. Researchers have found that low cost is the main driver in managing supply partnerships and a restructuring will often require companies to:

A)Reduce their number of suppliers
B)Focus on core competencies
C)Develop strong partnership relationships
D)All of the above

Question 15

As guidance to managing a global distribution, seven action points have been suggested. Do these include:

A)Do not waste money, time and energy initially
B)Let distributors pick you
C)Treat local distributors as short-term partners
D)They are all incorrect

Question 16

Big JIT includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A)Vendor relations
B)Scheduling materials
C)Human relations
D)Technology management

Question 17

Which of the following reasons accounts for the importance of supply chain Management?

A)Increasing competitive pressures
B)Decreasing globalization
C)Decreasing levels of outsourcing
D)Increasingtransportation costs

Question 18

. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of supply chain management?

A)Less variety
B)Greater agility
C)Lower inventory
D)Higher productivity

Question 19

What would be the total cost of inventory, if a firm holds 200 units of a product 'A',where the carrying cost is Rs. 2 per unit?

A)Rs. 202
B)Rs. 100
C)Rs. 198
D)Rs. 400

Question 20

Which of the following mathematical expressions can be employed to compute inventory cost?

A)Carrying cost per unit + average inventory cost
B)Carrying cost per unit × average inventory cost
C)Carrying cost per unit ÷ average inventory cost
D)Carrying cost per unit - average inventory cost

Question 21

Which of the following is the cost of carrying an item in inventory for a specific period of time?

A)Ordering cost
B)Holding cost
C)Shortage cost
D)Stock out cost

Question 22

Which one of the following mathematical expressions can be employed to compute annual carrying cost?

A)(Q-2)H
B)(Q+2)H
C)(Q÷2)H
D)(Q×2)/H

Question 23

In which of the following systems an item's inventory is stored at two different locations?

A)Optional replenishment system
B)Base stock system
C)Two bin system
D)Universal bar code system method

Question 24

Which one of the following is a condition for a successful supply chain?

A)A large number of suppliers
B)Many short-term contracts
C)Trust among trading partners
D)Continuous competitive bidding

Question 25

JIT stands for which of the following?

A)Just In Time
B)Just In Test
C)Job In Time
D)Job Inventory Time