1. Why do some firms keep stocks close to the market while others keep stocks in the component form at their plants? How do these decisions affect their performance? 2. Within the same industry, one finds significant differences in the supply chain performance measures across firms. What could possibly explain these differences in performances across firms in the same industry? 3. What are the advantages of moving from an MTS model to a CTO model? 4. Over a period of time, a product is likely to move from the introduction stage to the growth stage and from the growth stage to the maturity stage. Would this movement across different stages of the product life cycle affect supply strategy and practices of the firm? 5. A firm has been complaining of facing very high demand uncertainty, but it has a very poor contribution margin. Consequently, it is not able to apply ideas suggested in the literature for innovative products? What is your advice on this issue