PAPER END TO END SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
VERIFIED A+
◉ Supply chains should be configured to: (C&C) Answer: Reflect
customers' needs as well as trading partners' capabilities
◉ The four basic flows in supply chain: Answer: Flow of information,
the primary product flow, the primary flow of cash, and the reverse
flow of products.
◉ Sourcing Answer: "The process of identifying a company that
provides a needed good or service."
◉ Supply chain network configuration concerns: Answer: Suppliers,
production factories, distribution centers, customers' needs and
trading partners' capacities
◉ The optimal network configuration needs to consider the
following variables: Answer: Location of plants and production
capacities for each product
,Number, location, capacity, and capabilities of warehouses
Transportation between all facilities
◉ Transportation costs are a function of several variables, including:
Answer: Total distance between production facilities, warehouses,
retail outlets, or customers; bulk discounts for transport; and types
of transportation required.
◉ Infrastructure considerations for transportation Answer:
Condition and capacity of port facilities, airports, and roads, and rail
◉ Responsiveness Answer: Being responsive to changing customer
requirements.
◉ Supply chain agility is measured in SCOR using metrics for:
Answer: Flexibility and adaptability, measure an organizations
ability to ramp up or down in production volume without a major
impact on cost or organizational disruption.
◉ The variables that differentiate efficient and responsive supply
chains are: Answer: Inventory volume and demand uncertainty
,◉ Efficiency-focused supply chain attributes Answer: Customer
demand is stable
Forecasting error levels are manageable
Long product life cycle
Infrequent product introductions
Limited product variety
◉ Responsive supply chain attributes Answer: Customer demand is
not stable
Forecasting error levels can be significant
Real-time systems
short product lifecycles
Multiple warehouses
Maintain extra or redundant capacity
Third party transportation
Suppliers have a high degree of Agility
◉ Response-focused supply chain: capacity cushion Answer: Extra
capacity that is added to a system after capacity for expected
demand is calculated (Safety capacity/ Protective capacity)
◉ Responsive production system (Push or Pull) Answer: Pull (when
a customer order pulls production of the final product
, ◉ Level of service Answer: a measure (usually expressed as a
percentage) of satisfying demand through inventory or by the
current production schedule in time to satisfy the customers'
requested delivery dates and quantities
◉ Make-to-stock manufacturing strategy Answer: Goods are
produced and held in warehouse/retail locations before customer
orders are placed
Efficiency supply chain (High or Low volume/ low demand
uncertainty)
◉ Make-to-order manufacturing strategy Answer: Goods are
manufactured only after customer orders are placed
Responsive supply chain (Low Volume/ High demand uncertainty)
◉ Assemble-to-order manufacturing strategy Answer: Product
components or modules are produced based on forecasts and are
assembled when customer orders are placed
Responsive supply chain (High Volume/ High demand uncertainty)