Put in own words

1. There are three key issues that are fundamental to effective operations management: eliminate waste, remove variability, and improve throughput. Discuss these issues as they relate to the implementation of a lean system. Provide several examples for each.

2. An effective and efficient supply chain is critical to a large, global company. Many times a company gains competitive advantage through cost savings in the supply chain. Discuss the major factors and decisions that must be considered when designing a global supply chain.

3. Selection of suppliers in a low cost strategy takes the form of selecting the lowest cost supplier, where long term relationships are not critical. Discuss how this changes when a firm makes a strategic decision to move to few suppliers. What are the issues and advantages of doing this?

4. Discuss the relationship between Lean and Quality in a lean manufacturing system.

5. Discuss why reducing inventory can expose various problems that exist in manufacturing and distribution systems and how these problems are solved.