MID-TERM EXAMINATION – SPRING 2012-2013
|Course Code: MGT 420 – INDE |Course Name: Supply Chain Management |
|Date of Examination: March 27, 2013 |Time of Examination: 16:00-18:00 |
|Location of Examination: TBA |Instructor(s): DR. CHRIS (IDRIS) ENYINDA |
|Number of Students: 2 |Number of Pages: 6 |
NAME OF STUDENT: __ ______ID #:________________________
INSTRUCTIONS – READ CAREFULLY • Attempt All Questions. Write your answer on this booklet. • Examination is closed book. • Standard calculators are …show more content…
allowed. Programmable calculators with graphing capabilities are not allowed. • No mobile phones, books, or other communication devices are permitted in the examination room. • Use of unauthorized material and attempts to cheat or plagiarize will automatically result in a grade of zero for this examination and appropriate disciplinary measures.
BREAKDOWN OF GRADE
| |Discussion Questions |15 POINTS |
|Q1 (a&b) | | |10 |
|Q2 (a&b) | | |10 |
|Q3(a&b) | | |10 |
|Q4 | | |10 |
40 Points
Mid-Term Examination, Spring 2013
Instructions: Answer all the discussion questions (40 Points)
1. a) Supply chain managers should be concerned about four flows in their organizations. Describe these four flows and why they are important. How are they related to each other? b) What is the relationship between logistics and supply chain management? Explain in what ways they are different.
For a supply chain to achieve its maximum level of effectiveness and efficiency, material flows, money flows and information flows throughout the entire chain must be managed in an integrated and holistic manner, driven by the overall service and cost objectives. Measurement of cash flow can be used for calculating other parameters that give information on a company's value and situation. Logistics is the flow's management of products, services and information from the origin point (suppliers) to the end (final customer). It involves the management of four basic sub-systems: supply, production support, distribution and returns.
SCM is a broader concept, it involves the logistics management of the processes carried out within all members in supply chain and also, the relationships management with suppliers, logistics providers, clients and final customers, aiming partnerships or strategic alliances, in order to enable the intense information sharing and also resources (physical, monetary, knowledge) sharing.
2. a) Why are ports so important for global supply chains? Identify challenges UAE has with its ports. b) Identify and explain some of the more common ‘drivers’ and ‘facilitators’ of supply chain relationships.
Ports are a critical part of global supply chains and also a major focus for global security.
America’s ports are a vital part of its global commerce. Over $2 trillion in trade value per year passes through U.S. ports, and over $18 billion is collected in industry fees and taxes.
In spite of the fact that the Middle East offers good prospects for the maritime industry, mostly in the field of port development, offshore, shipbuilding and repair, the organization of Ship & Port Dubai 2010 has decided to postpone the exhibition. Because of the economic market situation the number of participants that registered in the exhibition turned out to be insufficient to organize a quality business event.
Drivers:
Connectivity:
Developing better connections between suppliers and buyers can be achieved by strengthening supplier commitment. Stronger commitment could improve trading conditions and the level of transactions between local suppliers and consumers. Import levels would significantly decrease, which would result in important benefits for the regions where such initiatives are developed. However, attaining commitment between partners does not solve some of the basic problems, such as inadequate infrastructure, environmental requirements and economic and safety conditions.
Visibility: Supply Chain Visibility optimizes inbound supply and outbound fulfillment processes through real-time, end-to-end visibility across your supply chain networks. Supply Chain Visibility provides a complete view of your inbound supply and outbound fulfillment activity across your supply chain network by providing and leveraging connectivity to all your supply chain trading partners, and enterprise applications.
Collaboration: the term supply chain collaboration to refer to those activities among and between supply chain partners concerned with the cost effective, timely, and reliable creation and movement of
Materials to satisfy customer’s requirements.
Optimization: Supply chain optimization is the application of processes and tools to ensure the optimal operation of a manufacturing and distribution supply chain. This includes the optimal placement of inventory within the supply chain, minimizing operating costs (including manufacturing costs, transportation costs, and distribution costs). This often involves the application of mathematical modeling techniques using computer software.
Execution: Supply chain execution is the flow of tasks involved in the supply chain, such as order fulfillment, procurement, warehousing and transporting.
Speed: speed is necessary in supply chain, because speed saves time, and time is money
Facilitators:
Everyone is involved from the CEO to production personnel.
3. a) “Metrics must focus upon customer needs and expectations.” Explain the meaning of this statement. Why have customers become more important for performance measurement? What role, if any, should customers play in developing supply chain metrics?
The main purpose of metric should be satisfying customer’s needs and wants, emphasizes customer service as specific performance measures that pervade all three definitions of customer service and address strategic, tactical, and operational aspects of order management( Orders received on time, orders received complete, orders received damage, orders filled accurately, orders billed accurately )
While service quality is the foundation of customer’s satisfaction with the fulfillment process, internal performance is also critical. Organizations need to balance customer expectations with the cost to process orders. Distribution costs must be kept low in proportion to the value of the goods or the organization will not be successful. These costs are kept low through effective utilization of assets and productive execution of distribution processes.
As I said earlier the main purpose of metric should be satisfying customers needs and wants, and what is a better way for accomplishing that than let the customer himself set the minimal requirements for his satisfaction.
b) Discuss the reasons why there is so much interest in radio frequency identification (RFID)? Identify and explain what supply chain benefits does RFID facilitate.
An asset tracking software using RFID provides a lot of benefits that is accompanied with a wide range of application and it is considered to be an interesting technological outbreak.
Asset tracking software equipped with RFID hardware can give the convenience of tracking and identifying your assets uniquely in real time. When it is combined with suitable sensors and bar code scanners, it can be applied in various industrial tracking applications in order to produce and send alarms when there are any movements or disturbances on the asset or just maintain inventory.
Using the sensors or scanners to determine several tags location is just one of the RFID assets tracking technology’s capability. This plays an important role in an intricate production merchandising where massive movements of different assets are in place. Using this system enables businesses to track all transactions and communications done electronically. With this, fraudulent acts can be mitigated and it gives your business better transparency on inventory and financial aspects during auditing
functions.
RFID asset tracking is now commonly used by many companies to keep track of their assets and properties. This tracking solution combined with inventory control software can aid issues concerning the supply chain progressions, inventory management as well as material asset tracking. It works best on carrying out real time information to system database and it is also good on tracking any company’s physical assets. It has the ability to identify bar code and serial numbers, the number of stocks available and the physical location of your assets. The RFID asset tracking package offers a great solution in the automation of authentication and recording of information in order to facilitate an integrated and centralized management of asset and inventory tracking.
Its real time tracking enables you to supervise the location of your employees and their activities on any urgent situations. This tracking solution offers a convenient way of securing and knowing the conditions of your asset as it averts any unauthorized usage of your properties. Moreover, it keeps you updated on your assets’ conditions in order to perform preventive or corrective maintenance to make sure that they running well at all times.
4. Identify and explain the basic elements of the S&OP process. Discuss how marketing, logistics, finance, and manufacturing contribute to each element.
Sales forecasting:
Sales forecasting is estimating what a company's future sales are likely to be based on sales records as well as market research. The information used in them must be well organized and may include information on the competition and statistics that affect the businesses' customer base. Companies try to forecast sales in hopes of identifying patterns so that revenue and cash flow can be maximized. Before the forecasting process begins, marketing, sales, or other managers should determine how far ahead the estimate should be done.
Demand planning: is a multi-step operational supply chain management process used to create reliable forecasts. Effective demand planning can guide users to improve the accuracy of revenue forecasts, align inventory levels with peaks and troughs in demand, and enhance profitability for a given channel or product.
The approach begins with a statistical forecast. Data sources for the forecast include planned sales orders, customer contracts and intercompany standing orders. The final forecast is shared with key stakeholders, such as suppliers.
Supply planning: is the component of supply chain management involved with predicting future requirements to balance supply and demand. Supply chain planning products may include supply chain modeling, and design, distribution and supply network planning. Pre-S&OP reconciliation of plan:
Finalize S&OP and link to implementation
The S&OP process is a continual loop involving participation from sales, operations, and finance to arrive at an internal consensus forecast, and will lead to better-planned overall production and distribution, which can cut costs and give a more attractive final product, leading to better sales