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business
supply chain management a logistics
Questions and Answers of
Supply Chain Management A Logistics
Some people say that you should always look for quotations, even for repeat orders, as this encourages competition and keeps prices low. Other people say that you should form an alliance with one
Everyone is talking about the benefits of purchasing through the Internet. What are these? How will e-procurement affect wider operations? What other changes will there be in the future?
What features would make an ideal supplier?
Forward purchasing has many advantages – as demonstrated by the huge market in financial futures. What are these benefits? If these are so obvious, why are many organisations ignoring them and
Do you think an organisation should always negotiate hard with suppliers to get the cheapest prices and best conditions it can?
In October 2000 The Trading and Standards Institute in London made test purchases in 102 retail websites. There were problems with 37% of these, 38% arrived later than promised and 17% did not arrive
‘What you can’t measure you can’t manage.’ To what extent do you think this is true?
Managers can be tempted to use the easiest measures of performance, or those that show themselves in the best light. What are the consequences of this? Can you give examples of problems this creates?
What are the most appropriate measures of performance for a supply chain?
Performance measures can give conflicting views – changes that improve some measures, make others worse. How can you decide whether the overall effect is beneficial or not?
It is easy to find improvements in any supply chain. So why have the managers not already made them?
Continuous improvement is not really useful as it just tinkers with existing operations and does not look for significant gains. To what extent do you think this is true?
To what extent is logistics a strategic function? Does it really have a long-term effect on an organisation? Is it possible to be ‘essential’ but not ‘strategic’?
When customers judge products, they include factors like availability, lead time and aftersales service – and these are part of logistics. Is it reasonable to say, therefore, that logistics plays a
What are the main options for a logistics strategy?
What factors affect the choice of logistics strategy? Take an organisation that you are familiar with, and say exactly how you would set about designing a logistics strategy.
There is only one ‘best’ logistics strategy in any circumstances, and managers should look for this. Do you think this is true?
What exactly is meant by ‘implementing the logistics strategy’?
We suggested a difference between strategic decisions that set the principles for logistics, and those concerned with the practicalities of implementation. Do you think that this is a real
It is often more difficult to implement a logistics strategy than to design one. This is why most logistics plans fail in the practice rather than the theory. Do you think that this is necessarily
What are the main areas for strategic decisions in logistics?
Supply chains are not usually designed from scratch, but evolve over time. What problems does this create? Can you suggest a better approach?
Can you find any examples of good logistics strategies that have given poor results because of poor implementation? What could have been done better?
If a company chooses a poor site it can always move to a better one. Such change is an unavoidable part of business. Do you think this is true?
Which areas of the world do you think will have the fastest economic development over the next twenty years? How will this affect location decisions?
What costs should be considered in a location decision? Is cost always an important factor? What other factors should be considered? What effect do government grants have?
Mathematical models for location take a simplified view and they only include the few factors that can most easily be quantified. So how useful are they for real decisions?
What features would you expect to see in computer software that helps with location decisions? Do a survey of relevant packages. How do they work, and what analyses do they do?
Different cultures are the main problem of locating facilities in different countries. They make it impossible to standardise procedures, have consistent operations, compare performance, or anything
Capacity is the most important decision in the design of a supply chain, as it affects the amount of materials that can be moved. Do you find this argument convincing?
Tactical plans – such as aggregate plans and master schedules – are useful for manufacturing, but they are not so relevant for logistics. Do you think that this is true? What happens if there is
What decisions are involved in tactical planning for logistics?
Mathematical models can find optimal solutions for planning and scheduling problems.By definition, these solutions are the best. If an organisation uses any other methods, it is accepting poor
MRP was developed to plan the supply of parts at manufacturers, so it cannot really be used in other types of organisation. Do you think this is true?
MRP II seems a good idea in theory, but it would be difficult to plan logistics, let alone finance and marketing, from a master schedule. The systems would also be so unwieldy that they could never
What are the main difficulties of using ERP?
If you were in hospital and needing a blood transfusion, would you rather the transfusion service used a traditional system of holding stocks of blood, or a just-in-time system?What does your answer
What are the most significant changes that JIT brings to the planning of logistics in an organisation? What happens if an organisation wants to introduce JIT, but finds that its suppliers cannot cope
Is it true that every organisation has to move materials to support its operations? What do service companies like Internet service providers move? Give some examples from different types of
How important is logistics to the national economy? What proportion of employment and gross domestic product is due to logistics? How has this proportion changed over time?
The supply chain is a convenient notion, but organisations are only really interested in making products that they can sell to customers. Provided they have reliable supplies of materials, and
Very few organisations deal with the final customer for a product. Most operations work upstream and form one step of the supply chain, often passing materials to internal customers within the same
The cost of logistics varies widely from organisation to organisation. What factors affect these costs? Are the costs fixed or can they be controlled?
How could you find the best balance between service level and costs?
Of the game-changing technologies discussed in this chapter, which do you feel will be among the most impactful for supply chains in the future?
What do you think would be some of the challenges with transforming supply chain processes within an organization? Across a number of organizations that may comprise a supply chain?
1. After looking over the similarities and differences between Amazon and Alibaba in the above table, which do you feel will become significant drivers of future success in the e-Commerce sector?2.
1. What are the relevant demographic changes that Jordano and SAB have to address in the 21st century? Why are they important for the success of both organizations? Provide some recommendations
Compare and contrast the four major subdivisions of logistics discussed in this chapter.
Discuss the relationship between manufacturing and logistics. What are the tradeoffs between the two areas? Has the relationship become more or less important in the 21st century?
1. From a global perspective, what are some of the factors that will impact the extent to which Nike’s strategies will be successful?2. What will be some of the challenges to be expected by Nike
What is meant by the current description of the global economy that “time anddistance have been compressed”? Do you agree? What has been the impact of this compression?
Physical distribution has a special relationship to marketing. What is the nature of the relationship between logistics and marketing, and why is it growing in importance?
Logistics encompasses a relatively large number of managerial activities. Discuss five of these activities and why they are important to logistics systems. Are some of these activities increasing in
Why do companies analyze their logistics systems from perspective of nodes and links? What additional or special insights do they gain by this analysis?
What product characteristics affect logistics costs? Discuss the effects of these characteristics on logistics costs. Are some characteristics increasing in importance in the 21st century? Why?
1. What are the key strategic and operational benefits of The Home Depot’s RDC and omni-channel supply chain strategies?2. What are some of the challenges that you feel may need to be addressed as
Using the company Web sites, evaluate the supply chain and contract manufacturing services provided by the following organizations:a. Refresco (https://www.refresco.com/en)b. Li & Fung
Identify and discuss the most appropriate assembly process and facility layout for each of the following products:a. Keystone Light beerb. IKEA furniturec. Kia vehicles
Discuss the role of technology in creating a smart factory.
Calculate a forecast using a simple three-month moving average.Calculate a forecast using a three-period weighted moving average. Use weights of 0.60, 0.30, and 0.10 for the most recent period, the
1. What is the economic order quantity for BBE in units? In pounds?2. What is the total cost (not considering transportation-related costs) of the EOQ?3. What is the total cost for using motor
1. If you were employed by the consulting firm, how would you construct your method of analysis?2. What criteria would you use?3. What would the cutoff levels be? Be sure to provide explanations of
What are the basic types of forecasts? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Why are companies like Amazon and The Home Depot making significant investments in distribution network expansion?
Using financial websites, company websites, and search engines, develop a basic overview report (primary service offerings, annual sales, current stock price, and recent news) for one domestic or
Why should companies consider the use of intermodal transportation for their domestic and international freight flows?
Use company Web sites, compare the service offerings for the following carriers:a. US Xpress (https://www.usxpress.com/) and AAA Cooper Transportation (http://aaacooper.com/)b. FedEx
1. Do you agree or disagree with Jeff Carr’s idea about engaging in 4PL-based advisory and planning services to Family Depot?2. If you were Dave Feather, what do you think would be some of the
Using company Web sites and industry publications, develop a profile (types of supply chain soft ware offered, recent news, etc.) of the following organizations:
How are companies using auto-ID to enhance service and efficiency?
How will business analytics and digitization drive supply chain success?
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