chapter 1

Question 0

Name the various stages in a supply chain and what they do.

Answer 0

Supplier

Distributor

manufacturer

wholesaler

retailer

customer

Question 1

Name the 5 external forces that drive change and that are shaping our economic an political landscape. explain which is most influential to L&SC

Answer 1

• Globalization
• technology
• organizational consolidation
• empowered consumer
• gov policy an regulation

Most important is Org consolidation. cause it is all about the growing numbers in the supply chain post ww2. this is where we utilized the supply chain as a competitive advantage. also added customization. sharing pos info with people in the supply chain

Question 2

What is the bullwhip effect?

Answer 2

when there are long time intervals between orders, the members of the supply chain are faced with uncertainty about the level and pattern of the demand, which results in higher inventory or stock out costs.

Question 3

Name 5 supply chain issues and explain how they can be fixed

Answer 3

1. Complexity - in terms of skus, customer and supplier locations, taxes, trade regs.
   Can be fixed by simplifying the process as much as possible. utilize technology and cut excess wherever possible.
2. Inventory deployment - inventory being duplicated along the chain and the bullwhip effect.
   can be fixed by proper SCM that reduces inventory levels. coordination and integration can reduce inventory levels.
3. Information - orgs don’t take advantage of the info they are holding to help make better decisions.
   Can be fixed by sharing info horizontally and vertically. also info can be utilized if it’s timely, accurate, managed, and shared.
4. technology - technology can sometimes be thrown at a problem, which can cause frustration and then failure.
   to fix this, the approach necessary is to analyze and adjust or change processes, and educate those involved.
5. supply chain security - risk of terrorisms and natural disaster.
   to fix this orgs need backup plans, developing suppliers not all located in the same area, customers spaced. etc.

Question 4

What does the world is flattening mean? explain 5/10 flatteners interns of supply chain.

Answer 4

-outsourcing- business can be outsourced to others which allows a company to focus on other things
-open sourcing - anyone can contribute to an idea whenever
-Insourcing- ups takes over
your businesses internal processes. they fix returns, they answer calls.
-informing- data is well shared now over the Internet. you can gather data easily yourself. customers are empowered.
-workflow- allows different browsers to share information. happened in 95. this allowed different computer users to still be able to communicate