A recent PwC Supply Global Chain survey indicated that companies that acknowledge the supply chain as a strategic asset achieve 70% higher performance. The "Leaders" in the survey point to nextgeneration supply chains, which are fast, flexible, and responsive. They are more concerned with skills that separate a company from the crowd: 51% say differentiating capabilities is the real key to success (pwc.to /VaFpGz). The results are based on a survey of 503 supply chain executives in a wide range of industries representing a mix of company sizes from across three global regions: Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

a. Describe the population of interest.

b. Describe the sample that was collected.

c. Describe a parameter of interest.

d. Describe the statistic used to estimate the parameter in (c).