Supply chain management is a multi-faceted process with many stakeholders and even more moving parts. New technology aims to make the supply chain more efficient, yet investing in the wrong technology further complicates productivity while hindering profitability, causing supply chain issues. Effective supply chain management offers numerous benefits for companies, so overcoming challenges to keep things running smoothly is a top priority for supply chain professionals. Calloway Cook is the Founder of Illuminate Labs, a dietary supplement company that does business differently. Illuminate Labs tests every single batch of finished product for label accuracy and contaminants, and then posts the test results on each product page for consumers to see themselves. In my opinion, the biggest challenge in supply chain management is Overcoming downstream effects from delays caused by one partner/supplier. Our supply chain involves a contract manufacturer, a third-party testing facility, warehouses to store inventory and a freighting company. If one of these suppliers has a delay, it affects all the others. For example, if my contract manufacturer is late with an order it can cause me to incur excess costs with the freighting and warehousing companies, respectively. What I do to mitigate the challenge of delays in any part of my companys supply chain is maintain constant communication with my suppliers. I do not work with suppliers who are unable to respond back to me same-day. (Source: https://6river.com/biggest-challenges-of-supply-chain-management/) With this regard: Examine the influence of the following stratagems in addressing the above stated supply challenges: 1.1 Sourcing strategy development (15) 1.2 Scheduling and control systems (15) QUESTION TWO [35] Read the FOLLOWING extract, and answer the questions that follow: Purchasing policies are typically a part of a companys overall operations handbook. It will describe the purpose for the policy, restrictions placed on employees, responsibility of purchasing department employees and other specific procedures or processes. Many purchasing policies will include information on how to use a purchase order for the acquisition of goods or services. Employees are often responsible for filling out the purchase order, obtaining management authorization and turning the document into the purchasing department. Companies can use a purchasing policy to improve the quality of goods and services in the company while lowering the cost of acquisition. Purchasing managers will often negotiate deals with vendors or running a bid process that allows vendors to compete for a project offered to them by the company Page 3 of 3 With this regard, 2.1 Evaluate relevant policies defining the buyer-seller relationships in the purchasing process. (20) 2.2 Evaluate the effect of supplier evaluation during the purchasing process.