Which of the following is an example of form utility?

• This utility can be created whenever a client is handed the keys to their new car, simply because from that moment they are free to do whatever they want to do with it.
• Customers often have to wait several weeks or even months for a new car. However, many of them need their vehicles as soon as possible. Thus, if the manufacturer manages to reduce delivery times by even just a few days, its cars become more attractive to potential customers.
• A car manufacturing company could sell all the parts of their cars separately. However, by assembling the parts (and manufacturing cars), this company adds significant value for their customers.
• If a car manufacturer sells exclusively within the US, buying a car is not very attractive for Europeans. However, if the company decides to open dealerships across Europe and sell cars overseas, the availability of its cars for European customers increases.

Which of the following is an example of time utility?

• A car manufacturing company could sell all the parts of their cars separately. However, by assembling the parts (and manufacturing cars), this company adds significant value for their customers.
• This utility can be created whenever a client is handed the keys to their new car, simply because from that moment they are free to do whatever they want to do with it.
• Customers often have to wait several weeks or even months for a new car. However, many of them need their vehicles as soon as possible. Thus, if the manufacturer manages to reduce delivery times by even just a few days, its cars become more attractive to potential customers.
• If a car manufacturer sells exclusively within the US, buying a car is not very attractive for Europeans. However, if the company decides to open dealerships across Europe and sell cars overseas, the availability of its cars for European customers increases.

3. During COVID, countless companies repositioned their products and added distribution channels to reach customers at their homes. Observing the economic, public health, and market changes helped these companies make the right choices to remain competitive throughout the pandemic. In the face of government shutdowns, for example, Airbnb added online services to its business model. And Peloton quickly pivoted to remote work, allowing it to take advantage of an expanded labor market. This is an example of which value dimension?

• Quality
• Cost
• Agility
• Delivery

4. Chrysler offers a five-year, 50,000 mile warranty; Whirlpool Corporation promises that parts for all models will be available for 15 years; Hewlett-Packard gives customers a 99% uptime service guarantee on its computers; and Mercedes-Benz makes technicians available for roadside assistance after normal dealer service hours. What value dimension is each of these companies focus?

• Agility
• Quality
• Delivery
• Cost

5. Companies introducing a new product often cite its cost advantages. If Company X produces a coffee maker virtually identical to that of Company Y, Company X may offer a version at a lower cost. If it comes with a reusable filter, the savings on paper filters are highlighted in packaging and advertising. These are examples of companies doing which of the following?

• Getting into the game
• Avoiding disqualification
• Creating tradeoffs and synergies
• Differentiating your product

6. A seat belt manufacturer estimates the demand for replacement seat belts and then creates a plan to manufacture those seat belts over a period of time. Once replacement seat belts start to roll off the production line, they are packaged into boxes (for the purposes of this example, lets assume 100 replacement seat belts per box) and sent to distributors in priority order of where it is anticipated the highest demand will be.

These distributors then send the replacement seat belts to the car dealerships, who hold several in stock so that when a customer comes in requiring a replacement seat belt, they are able to replace it within a short period of time and the customer is happy. Is this manufacturer using a push or a pull system? What could be a potential issue with this system?

• Push system; it is able to make rapid responses to changes in demand.
• Pull system; it creates unneeded inventory throughout the systemmanufacturer, distributor, and dealership.
• Pull system; it is unable to make rapid responses to changes in demand.
• Push system; it creates unneeded inventory throughout the systemmanufacturer, distributor, and dealership.

Apples chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook parlayed the 16 years of supply management experience he gained working at IBM and Compaq Computers to entirely revamp Apples manufacturing process. Starting as Apples chief operating officer (COO) in 1998, Cook pulled the company out of manufacturing, closing Apples warehouses and factories around the world. He opted instead to establish relationships with independent manufacturing contractors, many of them located in China where labor and cost of goods were much cheaper. These manufacturers would deliver products as needed. Cook credits these changes as a key factor in Apples growth and profitability. What system is Cook using and why would it increase profitability for Apple?

• Batch system; Cooks changes produced small quantities of output that greatly varied from one batch to the next.
• Automation; Cooks changes kept costs of production within reasonable levels.
• Just-in-time; Cooks supply chain improvements reduced the amount of time Apples inventory sat on the companys balance sheet.
• Continuous system; Cooks supply chain processed flow through a series of steps or operations.

The other day, I ordered a taco at the local taqueria. I specifically asked for no guacamole because I really hate guacamole. Sadly, someone wasnt paying attention, so my taco arrived fully guacamole laden. When I pointed out the error, the server tossed the taco in the garbage and set the cook to work on a new one. This is a perfect example of which form of waste? How can this be avoided?

• Over-production; calculate and control inventory days on hand
• Defects; track mistakes and correct behavior
• Inventory; start a waste journal
• Motion; adopt the FIFO method

Waste of motion refers to movement of people, resources, or machinery. For example, multiple staff may be operating one machine when only one person is necessary, resulting in time and resource wastage. These inefficiencies can also be dangerous and lead to workplace injuries and delay production.

Waste of motion doesnt always have to be on a large scale. Small-scale waste of motion includes things like rummaging through a pile of materials to find the right component, walking to the printer across the warehouse, or even sifting through sheets of paper. What is the key to reducing motion waste and what is a possible solution?

• Monitor the quality of defects and create waste audits to regularly find where defects arise.
• Assess your workflows and layout to identify areas of waste and create a workflow process document to ensure staff follow steps to reduce unplanned movement.
• Inventory software can help waste by tracking and recording all key changes related to demand and sales trends.
• Automate pick lists that can be sent to mobile devices so your warehouse team doesnt have to keep picking up paper orders.

Joseph has a kiwifruit orchard, and he has all the required factors of production: land, vines, workers, fertilizer, and water. He has decided how much of each input he will need, but he hasnt yet decided how much fertilizer he will use.

Joseph knows that if he increases the amount of fertilizer, the output of kiwifruit will increase. However, it may reach a point where too much fertilizer will poison the plant and decrease his output.

The law of diminishing returns states that there will be a point where the additional output of kiwifruit gained from one additional unit of fertilizer will be less than the additional output of kiwifruit from the previous increase in fertilizer.

This table shows the output of kiwifruit per unit of fertilizer:

At which point does adding one additional unit of fertilizer hit the law of diminishing returns?

• Between 1 and 2
• Between 2 and 3
• Between 3 and 4
• Use all four; we have not hit the law of diminishing returns.

The iPhone has become a ubiquitous accessory around the world and changed the way we communicate, connect, create, and much more. The company continues to be a disruptor and pace-setter that competitors are constantly chasing. This is an example of what type of innovation?

• Breakthrough innovation
• Adjacent innovation
• Incremental innovation
• Transformational innovation

Instead of putting customers on hold, JetBlues call-in customer service system now takes their number and calls them back later. This small upgrade effectively addressed an immediate problem of phone call wait times and provided a new level of convenience for JetBlue customers and employees alike. This is an example of what type of innovation?

• Breakthrough innovation
• Adjacent innovation
• Incremental innovation
• Transformational innovation

14. Beth has dreams of opening a gourmet cupcake store. She does a break-even analysis to determine how many cupcakes shell have to sell to break even on her investment. Shes done the math, so she knows her fixed costs for one year are $10,000 and her variable cost per unit is $0.50. Shes done a competitor study and some other calculations and determined her unit price to be $6.00.

$10,000 / ($6 $0.50) = 1,819 cupcakes that Beth must sell in one year to break even

What is the limitation of this analysis?

• This margin contributes to offsetting fixed costs.
• The contribution margin is the difference (more than zero) between the products selling price and its total variable cost.
• Fixed costs are those that remain the same no matter how much product or service is sold.
• That break-even analysis does not consider market demand.

15. Kelloggs has revamped their whole end-to-end innovation capability to focus on the core food design skills: investing in culinary to get closer to the real food experience; sensory, to equitably learn with the consumer; a design studio and rapid process lab to speed up the prototyping; a scaled-up pilot, which is now certified to make salable food; and finally, a Menuvation Center at The Hatchery in Chicago to showcase the foods with partners and customers. Why is this end-to-end product development process effective?

• It allows the company to hit trends, influence new trends, and grow the business.
• Each product has an elaborate product launch plan that is held in strict secrecy.
• This process limits meddling by management.
• The team leaves a trail of learnings for the next team.