Questions and Answers of Managing Supply Chain

Joseph Juran’s approach is more strategy-based than other approaches. Is it a better approach than Deming’s? Why or why not?
Briefly describe what is meant by random variation in statistical process control.
What is meant by process stability in statistical process control?
What is meant by a random sample?
What is an inspection ratio, and what role does it play in statistical process control?
What distinguishes a variable from an attribute? Provide an example of both a variable and an attribute characteristic.
What are statistical process control charts used for? What do they consist of?
Is there a difference between a defect and a defective?Briefly explain the two terms as they relate to statistical process control.
Within an organization, what is meant by change management?
What is meant by the term muda? Why is reducing muda a focus of lean/Six Sigma management?
How do Shingo’s seven wastes help firms to improve processes?
What is SMED? How is SMED related to small lot production?
What options do you think are available to Susan?
Briefly describe statistical process control.
Refer again to Table 13.1. Why do you think Chipotle has gotten so much bad press?What additional steps should it take to improve?
What has Chipotle done to improveor worsen its situation since this book was published? Support your answer with references.
Why do you think Chipotle has come to the point where it is now in crisis due to the E. coli outbreak?-
Do you agree with the NIST definition of customer-driven excellence in the chapter?Can an overemphasis on customer-driven excellence make a company too reactive instead of proactive? Explain.
How does customer contact make service quality difficult to manage?Give examples.
Is ISO 9000 a good model for improvement, or is it responsible for the “bureaucratization of quality?”Explain.
Identify the project’s critical path.
Draw the network diagram for the project.
Why do project teams expedite project tasks?How is task expediting accomplished?
What does the S curve describe in project management?
What role does the beta distribution play in calculating expected task times and task variances in project management?
What is scope creep? How is scope creep detrimental to a project?
What is the student problem, and how does it relate to project management?
What is consolidation warehousing? When (under what circumstances) is consolidation warehousing most helpful?
How does derived demand compromise the integrity and effectiveness of the logistics system?
What is meant by the term logistics sustainability ? How are companies pursuing sustainability?
Briefly describe the concept of bias as it relates to forecasting.
How is the reorder decision made in a continuous review inventory system?
In a continuous review inventory system, what is meant by lead time? How is it different from an inventory cycle?
What is the difference between a service level and a stockout?
In sales and operations planning, what is meant by the terms aggregation and disaggregation?
What is capacity? In what ways do capacity decisions affect a company’s performance?
What is a bottleneck? Why is it important to know the bottleneck when evaluating capacity?
Briefly discuss the concept of best operating level. What might happen if a firm’s production exceeds the best operating level?
In what ways can capacity be increased in the short - term?
What is meant by a service level from an inventory perspective?
Under what circumstances would double exponential smoothing be preferred to single exponential smoothing in forecasting?
How does increasing and decreasing the smoothing constant α in a single exponential smoothing model affect the forecast?
How does a weighted moving average forecast differ from a simple moving average forecast?
In what situations might judgmental or experiential forecasting be appropriate?
What is the objective of collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment?
How is a trend different from a seasonal pattern in a time series?
To increase the likelihood of a successful negotiation, where should most of the effort be devoted?
What are some - alternative sources for identifying potential suppliers?
Identify some general steps that can help achieve the full benefits of collaboration.
Under what circumstances should a collaborative supplier relationship be pursued?
What is meant by a specification as it relates to supplier management?
What advantages result from developing strong links with suppliers in the supply chain?
What is spend analysis, and what questions can it help answer?
What is the preferred strategy for managing critical items?
Briefly describe how it is possible for a small change in the cost of purchased goods and services to have a more significant effect on profits than a large change in sales.
Researchers who study procurement state that its role in organizations is moving from a purely tactical function focused on cost savings to becoming a strategic contributor. In what ways is
The role of purchasing organizations has changed over the years. What has been the focus of the purchasing organization since 2000?
What is strategic sourcing?
What explains the shift of the procurement function in organizations from a low-level task to a higher-level strategic focus?
How does servitization redefine the firm’s relationship with its customers?
What is a service poka yoke?
How does the uniqueness of each customer present a challenge to customer relationship management?
How is customer loyalty related to value?
What are the differences between internal and external customers?
Is CRM primarily focused on upstream or downstream activities in the supply chain?
Briefly describe the purpose of customer relationship management (CRM).
How do firms ensure that execution of strategic plans is effective?
What trade-offs are generally made when making capacity decisions?
How can queuing theory be used to help evaluate capacity decisions for service providers?
In waiting lines, sometimes technological advances cannot make it easier to manage queues. How can psychology help with this problem?
How does the newsvendor model allow the service firms to evaluate capacity decisions?
If four service representatives are employed, can the company attain its stated goal related to waiting time during the busiest period?
What is the purpose of process mapping?
How does batch production differ from a job shop?
Under what circumstances would a process layout be preferred to a product layout?
What is the major difference between basic research and applied research?
Discuss some well designed products. What positive attributes do they have from a design perspective?
What is meant by design? How is it different from continuous design?
How does aligning strategic levels help make strategy execution more effective?
How do relationships create sustained, competitive advantage for firms?
How does a firm know which capabilities they should create and foster?
What is the difference between a company’s core competency and a skill that the company is really good at doing?
Why are many colleges and universities seeing an increase in the number of students who are interested in studying SC&O management?
In what fundamental way do information flows differ from monetary and product flows in a supply chain?
What is process improvement, and how is it related to customer needs?
What are the phases involved with process design? How can process design be expedited?
What is meant by a process? Why do business students need to understand processes?