c) From the finding in question 3a and 3b, pick either supplier A or supplier B as your own selection and identify one potential supply chain risk of your choice, and suggest one tactic for risk mitigation. (3 marks)

d) In order to execute the Lean Manufacturing, seven wastes (or termed as the 7 Mudas in Japanese) must be identified and removed. As an operation manager in XYZ and in your own opinion:

- Which one is the easiest to be implemented and maintained in your plant? Explain why. (3 marks)

- Select the one that you believe is most difficult to improve in your plant. Explain why. (3 marks)

e) XYZ would like to implement Just-in-time (JIT) operation system, the operation manager is invited to work on three matters: (i) Reduce Inventory; (ii) Reduce Lot Size, and (iii) Reduce Setup Cost. Discuss and give one reason each to support (or otherwise) your viewpoints. (Total 3 marks)

Question 4 (Total 20 marks). XYZ Co. Ltd. is a Hong Kong based company and they have their own factory in Shenzhen, China. They have two suppliers A & B.XYZ management has identified three performance dimensions for supplier evaluation: cost, quality and on-time production. XYZ management has established importance weights of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.3 for cost, quality, and on-time production, respectively. You, as an operation manager at XYZ have rated the performance of suppliers A and B with regard to these three dimensions. Their ratings (1=poor to 5=excellent) are as follows: Performance ratings Performance dimension Supplier A Supplier B Cost LO 3 Quality 4 5 On-time production 3 5