CSCA EXAM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS||
LATEST UPDATE 2025
Aggregate Production Plan - ANSWER -Aggregate plan for the production process.
Measures what quantity of materials and other resources are to be procured and when.
Time frame (at least one year usually rolled forward by 3 months every quarter)
Master Production Schedule - ANSWER -A detailed dis aggregation of the APP, listing
the exact end items to be produced in a specific period. More detailed than APP (shows
all items produced). Time frame (shorter planning horizon, but longer the lead time to
produce an item)
Materials requirement Plan - ANSWER -Computer based, calculates exact quantities,
need dates, and planned order releases for sub assemblies & materials required to
manufacture a final product. Requires independent demand information, parent-
component relationships from the BOM, LFL-order what you need.
Chase strategy - ANSWER -Adjust capacity to match demand. (Adv) works well for
make to-order-firms. Finished goods inventory is constant. (Dis) Hire and layoff workers
(time and money to train).
Level strategy - ANSWER -Constant output rate, regardless of demand. (Adv) works
well for make-to-stock firms. Constant output, don't need to hire/lay off. (Dis) Finished
goods inventory and backlog vary. Relies on how accurate the forecast is.
Mixed Strategy - ANSWER -Combination of both chase and level strategies. (Adv)
maintain a stable, core workforce. (Dis) Use short-term means: overtime, contractors,
temps to manage short-term demand costs money.
Time Fence MPS - ANSWER -necessary because of system nervousness -small
changes in the upper-level production plan cause major changes in the lower-level
production plan. Firms use a time fence to deal with nervousness by separating the the
planning horizon.
Independant Demand - ANSWER -Forecast demand for final products affected by
trends, seasonal patterns, general market conditions (computers, pizza, bicycles)
Dependent Demand - ANSWER -the internal demand for parts based on independent
demand of the final product in which the parts are used (sub-assemblies) (microchips
for computers, cheese on pizza, wheels on bicycle). Relationship comes from BOM.
Bill of Materials (BOM) - ANSWER -document that shows a listing of all component
parts and assemblies making up the final product. Determines the dependent demand
, for components. Planning factor, how many components do you need? What materials
go into the final product?
Purpose of MRP - ANSWER -integrates data from production schedules with that form
of inventory and the BOM to calculate purchasing and shipping schedules for the parts
or components.
Holding Cost - ANSWER -(carrying cost) the cost incurred for holding inventory in
storage. The more units you have in inventory, the higher your cost.
Ordering Cost - ANSWER -the variable cost associated with placing an order. The more
orders you place, the higher your cost.
Safety Stock - ANSWER -extra stock that is maintained to mitigate risk of stock outs
due to uncertainties in supply and demand.
The EOQ Model - ANSWER -based on the trade-off between annual inventory holding
costs & annual order costs. Seeks to determine optimal order quantity, where the sum
of the annual order cost & the annual inventory holding cost is minimized.
RFID technology - ANSWER -Successor to the bar code for tracking individual unit of
goods. RFID does not require direct line of sight to read a tag. Information on tag is
update able.
Quantity Discount Model - ANSWER -Relaxes the constant price assumption by
allowing purchase quantity discounts (lower price when you buy more).
Vendor Managed Inventory - ANSWER -The supplier and its customer agree on which
products are to be managed using in the customer's distribution centers. An agreement
is made on reorder points and economic order quantities for each of these products.
Lean - ANSWER -waste reduction, small batch scheduling, inventory and setup time
reduction, lean layouts, lean supply chain relationships, continuous improvement,
workforce empowerment.
-adds value to supply chain process
Six Sigma - ANSWER -eliminating defects in any process from manufacturing to
transactions to product and service industries.
Pull productive system - ANSWER -begins with a customer order. Companies only
make enough product to fulfill customer's orders. No excess inventory that needs to be
stored.
Push productive system - ANSWER -Inventory control involves forecasting inventory
needs to meet customer demand. Companies must predict which products customers
LATEST UPDATE 2025
Aggregate Production Plan - ANSWER -Aggregate plan for the production process.
Measures what quantity of materials and other resources are to be procured and when.
Time frame (at least one year usually rolled forward by 3 months every quarter)
Master Production Schedule - ANSWER -A detailed dis aggregation of the APP, listing
the exact end items to be produced in a specific period. More detailed than APP (shows
all items produced). Time frame (shorter planning horizon, but longer the lead time to
produce an item)
Materials requirement Plan - ANSWER -Computer based, calculates exact quantities,
need dates, and planned order releases for sub assemblies & materials required to
manufacture a final product. Requires independent demand information, parent-
component relationships from the BOM, LFL-order what you need.
Chase strategy - ANSWER -Adjust capacity to match demand. (Adv) works well for
make to-order-firms. Finished goods inventory is constant. (Dis) Hire and layoff workers
(time and money to train).
Level strategy - ANSWER -Constant output rate, regardless of demand. (Adv) works
well for make-to-stock firms. Constant output, don't need to hire/lay off. (Dis) Finished
goods inventory and backlog vary. Relies on how accurate the forecast is.
Mixed Strategy - ANSWER -Combination of both chase and level strategies. (Adv)
maintain a stable, core workforce. (Dis) Use short-term means: overtime, contractors,
temps to manage short-term demand costs money.
Time Fence MPS - ANSWER -necessary because of system nervousness -small
changes in the upper-level production plan cause major changes in the lower-level
production plan. Firms use a time fence to deal with nervousness by separating the the
planning horizon.
Independant Demand - ANSWER -Forecast demand for final products affected by
trends, seasonal patterns, general market conditions (computers, pizza, bicycles)
Dependent Demand - ANSWER -the internal demand for parts based on independent
demand of the final product in which the parts are used (sub-assemblies) (microchips
for computers, cheese on pizza, wheels on bicycle). Relationship comes from BOM.
Bill of Materials (BOM) - ANSWER -document that shows a listing of all component
parts and assemblies making up the final product. Determines the dependent demand
, for components. Planning factor, how many components do you need? What materials
go into the final product?
Purpose of MRP - ANSWER -integrates data from production schedules with that form
of inventory and the BOM to calculate purchasing and shipping schedules for the parts
or components.
Holding Cost - ANSWER -(carrying cost) the cost incurred for holding inventory in
storage. The more units you have in inventory, the higher your cost.
Ordering Cost - ANSWER -the variable cost associated with placing an order. The more
orders you place, the higher your cost.
Safety Stock - ANSWER -extra stock that is maintained to mitigate risk of stock outs
due to uncertainties in supply and demand.
The EOQ Model - ANSWER -based on the trade-off between annual inventory holding
costs & annual order costs. Seeks to determine optimal order quantity, where the sum
of the annual order cost & the annual inventory holding cost is minimized.
RFID technology - ANSWER -Successor to the bar code for tracking individual unit of
goods. RFID does not require direct line of sight to read a tag. Information on tag is
update able.
Quantity Discount Model - ANSWER -Relaxes the constant price assumption by
allowing purchase quantity discounts (lower price when you buy more).
Vendor Managed Inventory - ANSWER -The supplier and its customer agree on which
products are to be managed using in the customer's distribution centers. An agreement
is made on reorder points and economic order quantities for each of these products.
Lean - ANSWER -waste reduction, small batch scheduling, inventory and setup time
reduction, lean layouts, lean supply chain relationships, continuous improvement,
workforce empowerment.
-adds value to supply chain process
Six Sigma - ANSWER -eliminating defects in any process from manufacturing to
transactions to product and service industries.
Pull productive system - ANSWER -begins with a customer order. Companies only
make enough product to fulfill customer's orders. No excess inventory that needs to be
stored.
Push productive system - ANSWER -Inventory control involves forecasting inventory
needs to meet customer demand. Companies must predict which products customers
