Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
Chapter 9 Enterprise Applications to Manage Supply Chains
and Respond to Customers
1) Firms can use social networking sites to improve their efficiency in customer service.
2) PRM provides a firm and its distributors trade information and distributes leads about
customers.
3) Enterprise systems are strictly internally oriented; other types of enterprise applications
must be used for communicating with customers and suppliers.
4) The upstream portion of the supply chain consists of the organizations and processes for
distributing and delivering products to the final customers.
5) Supply chain inefficiencies can waste as much as 25 percent of a company’s operating costs.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
6) Safety stock acts as an inexpensive buffer for the lack of flexibility in the supply chain.
7) The bullwhip effect is the distortion of information about the demand for a product as it
passes from one entity to the next across the supply chain.
8) Supply chain execution systems enable the firm to generate demand forecasts for a product
and to develop sourcing and manufacturing plans for that product.
9) In the pre-Internet environment, supply chain coordination was hampered by the difficulties
of making information flow smoothly among different internal supply chain processes.
10) Inefficiencies in a supply chain are primarily caused by inaccurate information.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
11) In a push-based model of SCM systems, actual customer orders or purchases trigger events
in the supply chain.
12) In a pull-based model of SCM systems, production master schedules are based on forecasts
of demand for products.
13) Wal Mart is an example of a push-based model.
14) Total supply chain costs represent the majority of operating expenses for many businesses
and in some industries approach 75 percent of the total operating budget.
15) All CRM packages contain modules for PRM and ERM.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
16) Major CRM application software vendors include Oracle and SAP.
17) Cross-selling is the marketing of complementary products to customers.
18) CRM software can help organizations identify high-value customers for preferential treatments.
19) Analytical CRM uses tools to analyze customer data collected from the firm’s customer
touch points and from other sources.
20) Enterprise systems require fundamental changes in the way the business operates.
21) Sales and marketing processes include general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable,
fixed assets, cash management and forecasting, product-cost accounting, cost-centre
accounting, asset accounting, tax accounting, credit management, and financial reporting.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
22) Cycle time refers to the total elapsed time from the beginning to the end of a process.
23) A firm’s supply chain is a network of organizations and business processes for procuring
raw materials, transforming these materials into intermediate and finished products, and
distributing the finished products to customers.
24) Nike’s contract suppliers manufacture sneakers from scratch.
25) CRM execution systems manage the flow of products through distribution centres and
warehouses to ensure that products are delivered to the right locations in the most efficient
manner.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
26) National supply chains typically span greater geographic distances and time differences
than domestic supply chains and have participants from a number of different countries.
27) Supply chain execution systems, capture and integrate customer data from all over the
organization, consolidate the data, analyze the data, and then distribute the results to various
systems and customer touch points across the enterprise.
28) Employee relationship management (ERM) software deals with employee issues that are
closely related to CRM, such as setting objectives, employee performance management,
performance-based compensation, and employee training.
29) Cross-selling is the marketing of complementary products to customers.
30) Which of the following is not an example of the benefits enterprise systems provide to
firms?
A) Products are shipped to stores more quickly.
B) When products are ordered, the manufacturing and logistics teams are notified immediately.
C) There is more accurate sales information for managers to analyze.
D) The cost of information systems falls, making the firm more productive.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
31) Enterprise software is built around thousands of predefined business processes that reflect
A) the firm’s organization.
B) industry goals.
C) best practices.
D) cutting edge workflow analyses.
32) Which of the following is not true about enterprise systems?
A) Enterprise systems help firms respond rapidly to customer requests for information or
products.
B) Enterprise system data have standardized definitions and formats that are accepted by
the entire organization.
C) Enterprise software is expressly built to allow companies to mimic their unique business
practices.
D) Enterprise software includes analytical tools to evaluate overall organizational
performance.
33) You have been asked to implement enterprise software for a manufacturer of kitchen
appliances. What is the first step you should take?
A) Select the functions of the system you wish to use.
B) Select the business processes you wish to automate.
C) Map the company’s business processes to the software’s business processes.
D) Map the software’s business processes to the company’s business processes.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
34) When tailoring a particular aspect of a system to the way a company does business,
enterprise software can provide the company with
A) configuration tables.
B) Web services.
C) data dictionaries.
D) middleware.
35) In order to achieve maximum benefit from an enterprise software package, a business
A) customizes the software to match all of its business processes.
B) uses only the processes in the software that match its own processes.
C) changes the way it works to match the software’s business processes.
D) selects only the software that best matches its existing business processes.
36) Supply chain complexity and scale increases when firms
A) move to globalization.
B) manage the procurement, manufacturing, and distribution functions themselves.
C) produce products and services that coordinate with hundreds or more firms and suppliers.
D) modify their existing workflows to comply with supply-chain management systems.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
37) A network of organizations and business processes for procuring raw materials,
transforming these materials into intermediate and finished products, and distributing the
finished products to customers is called a
A) distribution channel.
B) supply chain.
C) value chain.
D) marketing channel.
38) Components or parts of finished products are referred to as
A) upstream materials.
B) raw materials.
C) secondary products.
D) intermediate products.
39) A company’s suppliers, supplier’s suppliers, and the processes for managing relationships
with them is the
A) supplier’s internal supply chain.
B) external supply chain.
C) upstream portion of the supply chain.
D) downstream portion of the supply chain.
40) A company’s organizations and processes for distributing and delivering products to the
final customers is the
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
A) supplier’s internal supply chain.
B) external supply chain.
C) upstream portion of the supply chain.
D) downstream portion of the supply chain.
41) Uncertainties arise in any supply chain because of
A) inaccurate or untimely information.
B) poor integration between systems of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.
C) inefficient or inaccurate MIS.
D) unforeseeable events.
42) Why is overstocking warehouses not an effective solution for a problem of low availability?
A) It does not speed product time to market.
B) It is an inefficient use of raw materials.
C) It increases sales costs.
D) It increases inventory costs.
43) Which of the following traditional solutions enables manufacturers to deal with
uncertainties in the supply chain?
A) safety stock
B) continuous replenishment
C) just-in-time strategies
D) demand planning
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
44) A scheduling system for minimizing inventory by having components arrive exactly at the
moment they are needed and finished goods shipped as soon as they leave the assembly line
best describes a ________ strategy.
A) just-in-time
B) frictionless
C) bullwhip
D) safety-stock
45) Which of the following is not one of the key challenges facing global supply chains?
A) geographical distances
B) increased costs
C) time zones
D) cultural differences
46) Supply chain software can be classified as either supply chain ________ systems or supply
chain ________ systems.
A) push; pull
B) demand; continual
C) upstream; downstream
D) planning; execution
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
47) Systems that enable a firm to generate demand forecasts for a product and to develop
sourcing and manufacturing plans for that product best describes supply chain ________
systems.
A) demand
B) delivery
C) planning
D) execution
48) Supply chain planning systems
A) track the physical status of goods.
B) identify the transportation mode to use for product delivery.
C) track the financial information involving all parties.
D) track the status of orders.
49) Which supply chain planning function determines how much product is needed to satisfy all
customer demands?
A) distribution management
B) replenishment planning
C) demand planning
D) order planning
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
50) Supply chain ________ systems manage the flow of products through distribution centers
and warehouses to ensure that products are delivered to the right locations in the most
efficient manner.
A) demand
B) delivery
C) planning
D) execution
51) Capabilities of supply chain execution systems would not include
A) identifying the optimal transportation mode.
B) tracking the flow of finished goods.
C) managing materials.
D) managing warehouse operations.
52) Which of the following is not one of the main challenges in implementing enterprise
applications?
A) high cost of software
B) loss of ownership of data
C) complex to install and configure
D) dependence on third-party vendors
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
53) A supply chain driven by actual customer orders or purchases follows a ________ model.
A) pull-based model
B) build-to-stock
C) push-based
D) replenishment-driven
54) A build-to-order supply-chain model is also called a ________ model.
A) supply-based
B) demand-driven
C) replenishment-driven
D) push-based
55) Which of the following is not a potential “switching cost”?
A) employee training
B) upgrading software
C) new hardware
D) new documentation
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
56) The business value of an effective supply chain management system includes all of the
following except
A) faster time to market.
B) cost reduction.
C) supply matched to demand.
D) increased inventory levels.
57) A ________ is a method of interaction with a customer, such as telephone or customer
service desk.
A) point of presence
B) touch point
C) sales point
D) client channel
58) Which of the following would not be considered a contact point?
A) e-mail
B) Web site
C) Intranet
D) retail store
59) ________ modules use many of the same data, tools, and systems as CRM to enhance
collaboration between a company and its selling partners.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
A) SCM
B) SFA
C) ERM
D) PRM
60) ________ modules deal with issues such as setting objectives, employee performance
management, and performance-based compensation.
A) SCM
B) SFA
C) ERM
D) PRM
61) Customer relationship management systems typically provide software and online tools for
sales, customer service, and
A) marketing.
B) account management.
C) advertising.
D) public relations.
62) SFA modules in CRM systems would provide tools for
A) assigning and managing customer service requests.
B) capturing prospect and customer data.
C) identifying profitable and unprofitable customers.
D) managing sales prospect and contact information.
Laudon/Laudon/Brabston, Management Information Systems, Seventh Canadian Edition
63) ________ software deals with employee issues that are closely related to CRM, such as
setting objectives, employee performance management, performance-based compensation,
and employee training.
A) Enterprise
B) ERM
C) PRM
D) ERP
64) Customer service modules in CRM systems provide tools for
A) assigning and managing customer service requests.
B) capturing prospect and customer data.
C) identifying profitable and unprofitable customers.
D) managing sales prospect and contact information.
65) Marketing modules in CRM systems would provide tools for
A) assigning and managing customer service requests.
B) capturing prospect and customer data.
C) identifying profitable and unprofitable customers.
D) managing sales prospect and contact information.