QUESTION TWO a) It has often been cited that the competitiveness of an organizations supply through better coordination of the material information and financial flows. Companies that have a corporate supply chain department and various business units use one of the two methods for making decisions for their supply chain; Centralized decision making wherein the supply chain decisions centrally made at the corporate level and the decentralized decision making where supply chain decisions are usually made at the business unit level. In Epiroc (former Atlas Copco), for example, it is believed that better coordination of material flow can be achieved through centralizing the management of raw materiais and components, which is currently being done in isolation by the various factories supplying Epiroc with spares. Therefore, it can be said that a centralized approach offers a number of benefits compared to a decentralized store system. i identify the key potential service benefits that come as a result of centralizing a store department [10 Marks) il. Explain any four (4) logistic advantage of centralizing a stores function [8 Marks) - b) The role of the management of stores is concerned with improving both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the stores function by seeking to eliminate waste from activities that add cost to the supply chain, while maximising those areas that add value. One area that requires careful management is materials receipt which is material management function that concludes the transportation shipment and collects information for material accountability. Task: Think of any organization in Zambia and describe how they would design a material receipt section. In the discussion include the procedures, location, functions, and scenarios were critical decisions will have to be made. [7 Marks)