5) Currently, there is a shortage of talented operations and supply chain professionals.
6) Electronic commerce refers to the use of information technology solutions to automate business
transactions.
7) The drive for efficiency has decreased the level of globalization in the world economy.
8) E-commerce is the component of a supply chain that is the most susceptible to breakdown.
9) To avoid supply chain problems, firms must manage relationships with their downstream suppliers as
well as their upstream customers.
10) ________ is the ability to recalculate plans in the face of market, demand, and supply volatility and
deliver the same or comparable cost, quality and customer service.
11) ________ is the use of information technology solutions to conduct business via electronic transfer of
data and documents.
12) ________ is the term that describes efforts to improve operations by increasing supply chain members’
willingness to cooperate.
13) What is the meaning of agility to the operations and supply chain function?
14) What are some examples of agility for the operations and supply chain function?
15) Briefly discuss the three important trends in business that have focused attention on operations and
supply chain management.
16) What is the most impactful trend in supply chain management over the last quarter century? Justify
your choice.
17) Of all the activities of supply chain management, which poses the greatest challenge and why? Cite
examples in popular media.
1.3 Operations and Supply Chain Management and You
1) Which of these operations and supply chain activities deals only with suppliers as interorganizational
participants?
A) process selection
B) forecasting
C) inventory management
D) purchasing
2) Which of these operations and supply chain activities deals only with customers as interorganizational
participants?
A) process selection
B) forecasting
C) inventory management
D) purchasing
3) Which of these operations and supply chain activities involves the greatest number of interfunctional
participants?
A) process selection
B) forecasting
C) inventory management
D) purchasing
4) The organization that provides national and institutional leadership in purchasing and materials
management is:
A) APICS.
B) ISM.
C) CLM.
D) ASQ.
5) Which job title would be given to someone responsible for planning and controlling production in a
manufacturing setting?
A) supply chain manager
B) production manager
C) supplier development manager
D) purchasing manager
6) Which job title would be given to someone responsible for managing the physical movement of goods
throughout the supply chain?
A) supply chain manager
B) production manager
C) supplier development manager
D) international logistics manager
7) What are the primary duties of a transportation manager?
A) creating timely, cost effective import/export supply chains
B) managing private, third party and contract carriage systems to ensure timely delivery and cost–
effective transportation
C) using analytical and quantitative methods to understand, predict and improve processes
D) identifying global sources of materials, selecting suppliers and managing ongoing relationships
8) Which department is least likely to interact with the purchasing function?
A) Engineering
B) Finance
C) Human resources
D) Operations
9) The professional society for persons interested in operations and supply chain management is called
APICS.
10) The Institute for Systems Management, ISM, is the branch of APICS dedicated to ecommerce and
enterprise systems.
11) Customers are key interfunctional participants in the operations and supply chain activity of capacity
planning.
12) Suppliers are key interorganizational participants in the operations and supply chain logistics activity.
13) The purchasing activity identifies and qualifies suppliers of goods and services and manages the
ongoing buyer-supplier relationships.
14) Forecasting counts suppliers and customers among its key interorganizational participants.
15) Scheduling and managing the flow of work through an organization and supply chain belongs to the
logistics function of a supply chain.
16) There is no need for an organizational interface between the finance function and the operations and
supply chain management function.
17) A(n) ________ acquires knowledge in a specific market in which the organization purchases
significant quantities of materials and services.
18) A(n) ________ plans and controls production in a manufacturing setting.
19) This organization, ________, is a leader in education and all aspects of quality improvement.
20) ________ is an operations activity with the purpose of designing and implementing the
transformation processes that best meet the needs of the customer and firm.
21) The ________ function of an organization manages the movement of physical goods throughout the
supply chain.
22) Describe the involvement of the engineering, IT and human resources functions as the operations and
supply chain team are engaged in process selection.
23) Choose any two non-operations business functions. Provide examples of an operations or supply
chain activity that interfaces directly with each business function you have chosen.
24) Which of the major operations and supply chain activities do not deal directly with customers?
Explain why this is so.
1.4 Employability Skills
1) There are no questions in this section.
1.5 Purpose and Organization of This Book
1) Transportation and warehousing are examples of logistics activities.