A company manufactures special products for select customers. When demand for these products drops, the manufacturer can switch the production line to a commodity-type product that can be sold on the open market at reduced terms to generate cash. The company is executing a corporate strategy that is based on:
Which of the following considerations is an important supply chain design decision?
A firm wants to lose customers that don't value the unique products and services the firm offers and to attract and retain customers that want what the firm offers. Engaging in this activity should allow the firm to:
Which of the following levels in a supply chain network represents the most upstream external activity?
After identifying the potential causes for delays in communicating demand information up the supply chain, the trading partners should take which of the following actions?
A company's annual cost of goods sold is $350 million, and inventory carrying cost is 18%. The company averages four inventory turns. The cost savings resulting from increasing inventory turns from four to six would be:
The probability of customer dissatisfaction is highest when which of the following conditions exists?
Which of the following corporate strategies is most consistent with a flexible supply chain strategy?
A firm has identified groups of customers based on specific characteristics the customers desire from products and services the firm can provide. Characteristics include lead times, pricing tiers, and service levels. The firm is engaged in which of the following activities?
A company that produces standardized products and sells them through retailers via a responsive transportation system has decided to expand its sales with an online store for customized products. Which of the following distribution strategies would be the most appropriate for the business-strategy change?
The most likely benefit of implementing a collaborative transportation management system is:
Which of the following situations is an example of inventory being held as a way to balance supply and demand?
Compared to mass-media marketing, customer relationship management has the advantage of allowing the organization to:
The primary reason for a firm to pursue strategic supply chain activities is to:
Which of the following scenarios represents a correct application of the Supply-Chain Operations Reference-model (SCOR)?
A manufacturer can simplify the forecasting process by pooling demand forecasts for a product group and then:
Supply chains delivering products or services are most able to respond quickly to changing market requirements when:
A large manufacturer wanting to be more competitive in the global market place decided to outsource its transportation and return processing to other companies on a contractual basis. The companies providing the services would be referred to as:
Which of the following organizational design choices is an example of vertical integration?
The process of gathering data about what customers need and ensuring that desired features are included in the design and initial planning phase of a new product or service is known as:
Which of the following outcomes is a benefit typically expected of customer relationship management (CRM)?
A firm supplies a single line of products to consumers using retail stores and on-line sales, distributors, and wholesalers. Currently the firm has common pricing and response times for sales in each sales channel. Which of the following tools is most appropriate to employ to improve profitability?
When designing a supply chain for strategic advantage, a company first should consider:
The focus of collaborative supply chain management differs from a transactional approach by its emphasis on the:
Which of the following benefits of supplier relationship management typically results from collaboration with a few critical suppliers?
Which of the following activities is critical to successful synchronization of supply and demand throughout a supply chain?
Which of the following supply chain areas utilize order management cost metrics?
Which of the following measures of a supply chain performance is most desirable from a stockholder perspective?
A product should be designed for a manufacturing process with the smallest number of:
For an item with high profit impact and low supply risk, what would be a likely procurement strategy to support the overall supply strategy?
A company is aggressively pursuing improvements in the financial performance of its supply chain. The company should first focus its efforts on which of the following metrics?
In order to bring a new product to market quickly while maximizing customer value and minimizing costs, a company should leverage:
Which of the following rider less material handling systems can be characterized by movement along the floor using optical, magnetic, or wireless control?
A company desires to use customer relationship management (CRM) to enable supply chain collaboration. Implementation of CRM will enable the organization to most effectively:
A retailer wants to partner with its suppliers to implement automatic replenishment of inventories and joint sales forecasts. Which of the following supply chain management technologies most likely would support the retailer's strategy?
Which of the following statements is true when selecting the mode of transportation to use in a global supply chain?
A company’s cash-to-cash cycle time is 36 days. How many weeks of inventory are on hand if the average collection time from customers is 60 days, and the company pays its vendors in 45 days?
Interpersonal communication skills and negotiation with suppliers is important because it:
An insurance broker is interested in increasing price competition among its carriers. Which of the following strategies would be an efficient way to enable the price reductions?
In large supply chain transformation efforts, companies often ignore which critical component of change?
Which of the following metrics is the most appropriate measure of supply chain asset efficiency?
Which of the following activities occurs as part of the sales and operations planning process?
Which of the following circumstances must exist to implement a warehouse management system (WMS)?
The implementation of major enterprise-wide changes to eliminate or significantly reduce waste is related to which of the following concepts?
A firm has determined its cash-to-cash cycle time to be 60 days. The number of days' payables outstanding is 25, and number of days' sales outstanding is 35. If the firm reduces its inventory by 20%, the new cash-to-cash cycle time, in days, will be approximately:
A company has a high product mix and has decided to increase its supply chain flexibility. The most appropriate action for the company to take is to:
Which of the following objectives is a major principle of theory of constraints (TOC) accounting when applied to a supply chain?
A company has recently implemented a vendor-managed inventory (VMI) program with several key suppliers but quality issues are disrupting production. Which of the following actions would be more effective in dealing with these issues?
A company would like to benchmark its inventory levels against other companies. Which of the following metrics is best to use for this purpose?
Which of the following elements is critical to successfully using a sales and operations planning process?
A company has determined that products sold to a large, strategic customer have unacceptable low variable margins. Which of the following strategies should the company use to improve profitability of sales to that customer?
The most cost-effective way to increase the velocity of goods in a supply chain is to:
A company that sells 60 units of product in a given year and has an average quantity on hand of 10 units. There are 360 selling days and 261 production days in the year. The company has on hand how many days of product inventory?
A manufacturer of innovative products needs to focus on which of the following factors?
A company faces highly unpredictable demand for an end item. Which of the following production methods would work best for meeting customer demand within a reasonable lead time?
A role-based entry into a company’s system that aggregates all required sources of information into a single environment is known as:
Moving from engineer-to-order (ETO) to assembled-to-order (ATO) usually increases which of the following costs per unit?
Which of the following objectives is emphasized most in an integrated logistics strategy?
Which of the following transportation modes has the highest fixed cost and the lowest variable cost structure?
A high level of which of the following attributes is considered to be undesirable in a supply chain?
Supply chain disruption avoidance measures typically are based on distinguishing:
Which of the following factors is the key determinant of safety stock for finished goods?
Which of the following actions by a group of trading partners is most likely to quickly improve their economic performance?
Which of the following actions by a manufacturer most likely would improve service levels throughout the supply chain?
A large retailer would like to reduce inventory investment in its distribution network. Which of the following actions is most likely to produce the desired result in the shortest time?
Using new housing construction data as a predictor of construction equipment sales is an example of what type of forecasting method?
Which of the following outcomes is the principal result of a successful sales and operations planning (S&OP) session?
Which of the following activities is included in the source process of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model?
Which of the following distribution strategies is characterized by items flowing through a warehouse in an almost continuous manner?
Which of the following factors is the most important driver of supply chain change?
A company that is effectively managing its cash will have which of the following conditions?
Which of the following technologies best enables pulling products through the supply chain?
A media company offers a majority of its movies through a specific distributor. The media company is beginning to produce content for a new foreign market to which the distributor has exclusive access. To maximize savings and gain entry to this new market, the media company should:
The factors to consider in the make-or-buy decision include costs, proprietary knowledge, and:
A large wholesaler formerly owned a number of delivery trucks. The wholesaler sold all of its trucks and now purchases transportation services from fleet operators. This is an example of which of the following strategies?
Which of the following practices has improved management of the customer pipeline?
Which of the following consequences is a result of shipping directly from the point of manufacture to the customer rather than through a distribution network?
The use of a seasonal index as a forecasting technique measures the ratio of the:
A manufacturer uses standard costing, and a potential supplier uses activity-based costing. This difference most likely will have implications for which of the following types of future decisions?
Which of the following actions typically would be considered part of a reverse logistics strategy?
A manufacturer of plastic components that are sold either directly or through distributors wants to identify the requirements of the end customers for each market segment. Which of the following approaches would be most appropriate?
A company considers outsourcing its information technology support to a low-cost region on another continent. The company currently has no business presence there. Which of the following actions is most effective in helping to select a service provider?
Keeping all other factors equal, a company typically will try to maintain higher service levels for products with:
In addition to sales history, current customer orders, and forecasted demand, which of the following data sources should be used as part of a demand management process?
Using an independent service provider for logistics would be most appropriate in which of the following situations?
The transportation manager at a consumer goods manufacturer has decided to begin shipping full truckload rather than less-than-truckload quantities. Which of the following outcomes is likely following implementation of this decision?
A company currently produces custom goods for a limited market. To increase market share, the company will implement a strategy to reduce the number of products it produces and reduce delivery lead time. The company can increase its chances of achieving the strategy by:
Inventory parameters established using analytic inventory techniques typically are based on balancing:
A manufacturer offers a trade-in allowance on a new machine when the customer returns the old machine. The manufacturer reconditions the returned machine locally and then sells it on the used market for a profit. This program is an example of a focus on:
Which of the following scenarios represents a correct application of the Supply-Chain Operations Reference-model (SCOR)?
What is the primary benefit of using a central storage warehouse for all components rather than using point-of-use storage?
Customizing can be an effective warehousing strategy because it allows a company to:
A company is formally adhering to the principles of the UN Global Compact. After a review of their supply chain, they have found that a key supplier is in violation of the compact. The best action for the company to do first is:
Which of the following actions is most likely to increase total supply chain risk?
Which of the following activities typically would be an appropriate application of the ISO 31000 Risk Management Principles and Guidelines?
A firm is undertaking a revision of its financial metrics to make them more comprehensive and has decided to use metrics such as return on investment (ROI), return on assets (ROA), and economic value added (EVA). This is an example of utilizing which of the following types of metrics?
An increase in the inventory turnover rate for a supply chain typically would indicate that there has been a reduction in:
Allowing for organizational restructuring is an example of which of the following steps in creating successful strategic alliances among suppliers?
A product design that can be produced to requirements even when conditions in the production process are unfavorable typically is known as what type of design?
Which of the following statements about the use of bar code labels for product identification in the supply chain is true?
Distribution from which of the following types of sites enables goods to enter a country, undergo further modification, and then be exported without paying customs duties?
A corporation must consider which of the following factors when selecting its enterprise resources planning system?
When implementing e-commerce in the supply chain, a company's toughest challenge most likely will be:
Which of the following outcomes occurs when direct shipping is used instead of a distribution network?
A company produces and distributes a family of soft drinks in a single country. It has developed and will introduce a new family of soft drinks for weight- and health-conscious individuals. There currently are no competitors with nationwide distribution for this category of soft drinks. Which of the following supply chain strategies would be most appropriate for the two product families?
A manufacturer and the distributors of its products have decided to focus on price and product availability as strategic priorities. Which of the following values would be the most appropriate measure of customer service?
A company wants to implement a system for managing environmental compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements. Which of the following sustainability tools is most appropriate?
Benchmarking a firm's performance against industry competitors is most valuable because it can reveal:
A company closely monitors supplier performance and notices recent late deliveries from one supplier. The supplier discloses flood damage at the plant. The company quickly shifts sourcing to a new supplier and has minimal loss of sales. Which of the following risk strategies reflects the company's actions?
A company most likely would consider moving a portion of its manufacturing to a second location to:
It is most appropriate to measure spending per customer as a proportion of profitability during which of the following phases of a supplier/customer relationship?
A business is changing from a business to business model to a business to consumer model. Which of the following statements about this supply chain change is true?
Potential customers of a company's new product have tight tolerance requirements. The company plans to purchase a critical component. To meet customer requirements, the company should first:
Which of the following ISO standards is used to assist organizations with sustainable development?
A company that has consistently achieved a high level of on-time delivery performance has decided to reduce its inventory level significantly. Which of the following outcomes is the most likely effect of that decision on the company's on time delivery performance?
The demand side of a traditional warehouse management system primarily is concerned with:
When doing international business, a company's total line-haul costs will vary with the:
Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for an enterprise that has successfully integrated internal supply chain management systems and functions?
The customer who provides point-of-sale data remains the sole decision-maker regarding order quantities when what type of inventory strategy is used?
In the Supply Chain Operations Reference-model (SCOR®), the cash-to-cash cycle time for a manufacturing company is the number of days between which two of the following situations?
A toy company decides to buy more products from an overseas company to reduce costs. To make sure that goods clear customs more quickly, the company most likely would engage a:
In an advanced planning system, which of the following modules feeds the master planning module?
A company originally based in Germany sets up companies in India, China, Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. It sources most of the raw materials locally and employs the local workforce to manage and produce finished goods. Most of the goods produced are consumed in the same country. The company can be classified as what type of enterprise?
The process used to determine the impact of promotions, price discounts, and rebates on demand forecasts commonly is referred to as demand:
A company that sells engineered-to-order products is planning implementation of a supplier relationship management system (SRM) for direct materials. Which of the following factors is most likely to make the implementation difficult?
The most appropriate reason for a business to comply with the United Nations (UN) Global Compact practices typically would be to:
Bar codes and radio frequency identification systems are key technologies in supply chain systems because they perform which of the following functions?
A manufacturer is the leader of a group of trading partners that are collaborating to improve customer service levels and profitability. Which of the following methodologies would be most appropriate for synchronizing supply and demand across the supply chain?
The social dimension of sustainability typically would be addressed when developing and implementing policies regarding:
Which of the following warehousing tools enables wireless scanning of products?
A company plans to maximize profitability by charging more for its products at retail locations than on its website. Which of the following segmentation strategies would best support this plan?
Implementation of supply chain applications based on which of the following technologies is most likely to have the lowest fixed costs?