Question 1

In a________ a company decides how to structure the supply chain over the next several years. It decides what the chain's configuration will be and how the resources will be allocated.

Accepted Answer

In a supply chain strategy a company decides how to structure the supply chain over the next several years. It decides what the chain's configuration will be, how the resources will be allocated, and what process each stage will perform. Strategic decisions carried out by companies include locations and their capacities, the means of transportation available along different shipping legs, and the type of information system to be utilized.

Question 2

In the supply chain planning phase, a company must include uncertainty in ___________

Accepted Answer

In the supply chain planning phase, a company must include uncertainty in exchange rates, demand, and competition over this time horizon in their decisions. Given a shorter time horizon and improved forecasts, companies in the planning phase try to integrate any flexibility built into the supply chain in the design phase and exploit it to enhance performance.

Question 3

The goal of ________ is to handle incoming customer orders in the best possible manner.

Accepted Answer

The goal of supply chain operations is to handle incoming customer orders in the best possible way. Throughout this phase, firms allocate inventory or production to individual orders, set a date that an order is to be filled, produce pick lists at a warehouse, assign an order to a specific shipping mode, set delivery schedules of shipping trucks, and place replenishment orders.

Question 4

A cycle view of the supply chain is essential when considering ___________ because it clearly specifies the roles and responsibilities of each member in the supply chain.

Accepted Answer

A cycle view of the supply chain is essential when considering operational decisions because it clearly specifies the roles and responsibilities of each member in the supply chain. The detailed processes in the cycle view forces a supply chain designer to consider the infrastructure required to support these processes.

Question 5

The retail order trigger is used by a retailer which ____________.

Accepted Answer

A key activity the retailer performs during the replenishment cycle is to devise a replenishment or ordering policy that triggers an order from the previous stage.

Question 6

The objective of __________ processes is to maximize the proportion of orders filled on time while keeping costs down.

Accepted Answer

In the production scheduling process, orders are allocated to a production plan. The key objective of a production plan is to maximize the proportion of orders filled on time while keeping costs down.

Question 7

During the ______ the manufacturer orders components from supplier that replenish the component inventories.

Accepted Answer

The procurement cycle occurs at the manufacturer/ supplier interface and includes all processes necessary to ensure that materials are available from manufacturing so that everything will happen on schedule. During the procurement cycle the manufacturer orders components from a supplier to replenish the component inventories.

Question 8

Strategic fit means that both the ___________and ________have same goal.

Accepted Answer

Strategic fit means that both the competitive and supply chain strategies have same goal. It refers to consistency between the customer priorities that the completive strategy hopes to satisfy and the supply chain capabilities that the supply chain strategy aims to build.

Question 9

To attain strategic fit a company must ensure that its supply chain capabilities support its ability to satisfy the ________

Accepted Answer

A competitive strategy will require, either explicitly or implicitly, one or more customer segments that a company hopes to satisfy. Therefore to attain strategic fit a company must ensure that its supply chain capabilities support its ability to satisfy the targeted customer segments.

Question 10

Demand uncertainty reflects the uncertainty of customer demand for a product, whereas __________ is the resulting uncertainty for the production of the demand that the supply chain must handle and the attributes the customer desires.

Accepted Answer

There is a distinction between demand uncertainty and implied demand uncertainty. Demand uncertainty imitates the uncertainty of customer demand for a product, whereas implied demand uncertainty is the resulting uncertainty for the production of the demand that the supply chain must handle and the attributes the customer desires. For example. a firm supplying only emergency orders for a product will face a higher implied demand uncertainty than a firm that supplies the same product with long lead time.

Question 11

Which of the following are the impacts of customer needs on implied demand uncertainty?

Accepted Answer

Implied demand uncertainty is often correlated with other characteristics of demand which result in an impact on customer needs. The range of quantity required increases because a wider range of quantity required implies greater variance in demand, lead time decreases because there is less time in which to react to orders, and the variety of products required increases because demand per product becomes more disaggregated.

Question 12

The primary goal of an efficient supply chain is to supply demand at the ______ cost, whereas the primary goal of a responsive supply chain is to __________ to the demand.

Accepted Answer

The primary goal of an efficient supply chain is to supply demand at the lowest cost, whereas the primary goal of a responsive supply chain is to respond quickly to the demand. Similarly, the pricing strategy on an efficient supply chain should be lower margins because price is a prime customer driver, whereas a responsive supply chain should have higher margins because price is not a prime customer driver.

Quiz 14: Strategy Alignment