Section A Flashcards
The amount of time that potential customers are willing to wait for the delivery of a good or a service is known as the:
a) demand lead time.
b) manufacturing lead time.
c) service lead time.
d) cumulative lead time.
a) demand lead time
Demand lead time is the amount of time that potential customers are willing to wait for the delivery of a good or a service.
Manufacturing lead time is the total time needed to manufacture an item. Cumulative lead time is the longest string of lead times for the materials and processes used to make a product, and is used to calculate time horizons.
Why does the UN Global Compact single out supply chain partners as an important factor in a firm’s ability to comply with its 10 principles?
a) It spreads the Compact’s reach, even though partner actions can’t impact the firm.
b) Customers define which of the principles have the highest priority.
c) It motivates suppliers in countries with low labor costs toward compliance.
d) If the organization uses unionized labor, all of its suppliers should, too.
c) It motivates suppliers in countries with low labor costs toward compliance.
In an extended supply chain, the actions of an organization’s suppliers may reflect positively or negatively on the organization, especially if they are the channel master or most visible partner in the network. Therefore, the Global Compact stresses the need to ensure that suppliers are compliant with the principles (or are making reasonable progress in that direction). When located in countries with lower labor costs, it is both more important to ensure compliance, while also harder to do so.
The competitive characteristics that a firm must exhibit to be a viable competitor in the marketplace are known as:
a) order winners.
b) order qualifiers.
c) customer preferences.
d) a competitive advantage.
b) order qualifiers
Order qualifiers are competitive characteristics that are required for a firm to be a viable competitor in the marketplace.
What is the definition of the term “supply chain”?
a) Global network used to deliver products and services from raw materials to end customers through an engineered flow of information, physical distribution, and cash
b) Process reference model developed and endorsed by the Supply Chain Council as the cross-industry, standard diagnostic tool
c) When supply chain partners interact at all levels to maximize mutual benefits
d) Comprehensive approach to managing an enterprise’s interactions with the organizations that supply the goods and services the enterprise uses
a) Global network used to deliver products and services from raw materials to end customers through an engineered flow of information, physical distribution, and cash
Supply chains comprise the various entities from the consumer back to the source of raw materials consumed in the end product.
Why is manufacturing important to the economy?
a) It adds value to products to generate wealth.
b) It prevents waste and decreases unemployment.
c) It decreases unemployment and generates wealth.
d) It uses natural resources and prevents waste.
a) it adds value to products to generate wealth.
If manufacturing adds value to products, it also creates wealth, which is important to the economy.
The other options are incorrect because, while manufacturing does create wealth, it does not necessarily reduce employment; manufacturing may prevent waste and decrease unemployment in some but not all cases, so it is not correct; using natural resources without generating wealth is wasteful.
Which of the following entities or conditions impacts demand by providing expectations that products will be sold at a fair price, that higher quality is required, that delivery lead time is negligible, that before- and after-sales service is available, and that products and their volumes are flexible?
a) Sales and marketing
b) Customers
c) Competition
d) Customs
b) Customers
Both consumers and industrial customers have become much more demanding, and suppliers have responded by improving the range of characteristics they offer. Some of the characteristics and selections customers expect in the products and services they buy are a fair price, higher-quality products and services, better delivery lead time, better pre- and after-sales service, and product and volume flexibility.
A company is seeking to design a new product as a low-cost manufacturer. Which of the following design methods brings product and process design groups together to achieve this objective?
a) Quality function deployment
b) Simultaneous engineering
c) Collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment
d) Lean six sigma
b) Simultaneous engineering
Simultaneous engineering is a concept that refers to the participation of all the functional areas of the firm in the product design activity. Suppliers and customers are often also included.
Which is a category of performance measures that relates to daily work routines, such as cycle time and utilization?
a) Tactical metrics
b) Strategic metrics
c) Operational metrics
d) Sustainability metrics
c) Operational metrics
Operational metrics relate to daily work. Tactical metrics relate to intermediate-term goals to support the strategic plan. Strategic metrics relate to the long-term goals of a business. Although sustainability can be measured, it is not necessarily associated with daily operations.
Which of the following is true of a business plan?
a) It is stated in terms of monetary units and grouped by product family.
b) It is stated in terms of units and grouped by manufacturing site.
c) It is stated in terms of monetary units and detailed by product.
d) It is stated in terms of units and grouped by distribution channel.
a) It is stated in terms of monetary units and grouped by product family.
A business plan is a statement of long-range strategy and revenue, cost, and profit objectives usually accompanied by budgets, a projected balance sheet, and a cash flow.
Which of the following terms pertains to the design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand, and measuring performance globally?
a) Strategic planning
b) Supplier relationship management
c) Supplier partnership
d) Supply chain management
d) Supply chain management
Supply chain management is the management process that oversees all of the stated activities related to the supply chain.
How is a strategic plan different from a business plan?
a) A strategic plan contains the company’s vision, mission statement, goals, and objectives.
b) A strategic plan seeks to define priorities.
c) A strategic plan contains a capacity resource plan.
d) A strategic plan is tactical in nature.
a) A strategic plan contains the company’s vision, mission statement, goals, and objectives.
A strategic plan contains the company’s vision, mission statement, goals, and objectives.
A business plan is a statement of long-term strategy and revenue, cost, and profit objectives usually accompanied by budgets, a projected balance sheet, and a cash flow statement.
Which of the following entities or conditions impacts customer demand by improved communication, global transportation, and worldwide sourcing?
a) Government
b) Quality
c) Logistics
d) Competition
d) Competition
In today’s global environment, manufacturers find foreign competitors selling in their markets, transportation of goods around the globe easy and affordable, and communications availing customers of goods and services from around the globe.
In a conventional manufacturing planning and control environment, which of the following objectives often conflict?
a) Minimize production costs and decrease product variety.
b) Meet customer service targets and decrease inventory investment.
c) Minimize production costs and increase the length of production runs.
d) Meet customer service targets and minimize delivery lead times.
b) Meet customer service targets and decrease inventory investment.
In order to meet fluctuations in customer needs, you need inventory. However, storing inventory can be costly and inefficient. Therefore, a manufacturing environment will need to balance these two potentially conflicting objectives.
Which of the following is an advantage of simultaneous engineering?
a) The product design is worked on at the same time that the process design takes place.
b) The product design is a success even if a profit cannot be made.
c) Multiple designers work on the design at the same time, producing multiple options to consider.
d) The process requires fewer resources and lowers the cost of design.
a) The product design is worked on at the same time that the process design takes place.
Product design and process design work hand-in-hand to achieve the design objectives and to produce the product for the lowest possible cost.
Which is a major objective of materials management?
a) Provide the required level of customer service.
b) Provide sufficient equitable employment.
c) Provide cost information for management decisions.
d) Support cost accounting by decreasing inventory turns.
a) Provide the required level of customer service.
The two primary objectives of materials management are to provide the desired level of customer service and to make the best use of company resources.
The other answers are incorrect because, although materials management may result in employment, it is not a primary objective; materials management would rather increase, not decrease, inventory turns; and cost information is an output of production reporting, not an objective of materials management.
Recycling wastes, such as plastic, paper, metals, etc., for reuse in today’s products and thus minimizing landfills is an example of:
a) sustainability.
b) reverse logistics.
c) cost reduction.
d) rework.
a) sustainability
Sustainability includes activities that provide present benefit without compromising the needs of future generations. An organization that emphasizes sustainability will work towards responsible economic growth that benefits the society in which it operates - for example, by providing fair wages, equal opportunities for local workers, by having a minimal impact on the environment.
