Principles of Supply Chain Management A Balanced Approach, 6th Editi
c c c c c c c c c
on by Joel Wisner, Keah-Choon Tan, G. Keong Leong
c c c c c c c c
SolutionandAnswerGuide c c c
JoelcWisner,cKeah-
ChooncTan,cG.cKeongcLeong,cPrinciplescofcSupplycChaincManagement:cAcBalancedcApproach,c6e,c©c20
23,c978-0-357-71560-4;cChapterc01:cAnswersctocQuestions/Problems
Table of Contents
c c
DiscussioncQuestions........................................................................................................... 1
Cases ................................................................................................................................ 7
LearningcObjectives.................................................................................................................................... 7
AnswersctocQuestions ................................................................................................................................ 7
Appendixc1.1cThecBeercGame................................................................................................ 8
QuestionscandcExercises............................................................................................................................. 8
Discussion Questions c
1. cDefinecthectermcsupplycchaincmanagementcincyourcowncwordscandclistcitscmostcimportantca
ctivities.
Answers:
ThecSupply-
ChaincCouncil’scdefinitioncofcsupplycchaincmanagementcisc―managingcsupplycandcdemand,csourcingcr
awcmaterialscandcparts,cmanufacturingcandcassembly,cwarehousingcandcinventoryctracking,cordercen
trycandcordercmanagement,cdistributioncacrosscallcchannels,candcdeliveryctoctheccustomer.
Thesecarecalsocthecmostcimportantcactivities;chowever,cintegrationcofckeycsupplycchaincprocessescmig
htcalsocbecincludedcincthere.
2. Cancacsmallcbusinessclikecaclocalcsandwichcorcbicyclecshopcbenefitcfromcpracticingcsupplycchaincm
anagement?cWhatcwouldctheycmostclikelycconcentratecon?
Answers:
Yes,canycorganizationccancimplementcatcleastcsomecofcthecimportantcconcepts.cAcgoodcplacectocst
artciscthecrationalizationcorcreductioncofcthecsupplycbase.cSmallcbusinessescmightcalsocwantctocconc
entrateconccustomerscascacstartingcpoint.
3. Describecandcdrawcacsupplycchaincforcacbicyclecrepaircshopcandclistcthecimportantcsupplycchaincm
embers.
Answers:
©c 1
, Thiscwillcvarycfromcstudentctocstudent,cbutcshouldcinclude,cforcinstance,cpartscsuppliers,cbicyclecsuppl
iers,candcothercsuppliersc(i.e.,chelmetcsuppliers)candcservicesc(i.e.,crepaircservices)cascfirst-
ctiercsupplierscandcbicyclecownerscascfirst-tierccustomers.
4. Cancacbicyclecrepaircshopchavecmorecthanconecsupplycchain?cExplain.
Answers:
Yes.cEverycrepaircitemcthecfirmcstockschascpotentiallycacdifferentcsupplycchaincassociatedcwithcit.
5. Whatciscaccoldcchain?cWhycdidcitcbecomecsocimportantcinc2020?
Answers:
Accoldcchainciscancalliancecofccompaniescthatccancmonitorcandcprotectcthectemperaturecofcperishable
cproductsctocmaintaincqualitycandcsafetycfromcthecpoint cofcorigincthroughcdistributionctocthecfinalccon
sumer.cColdcchainscbecamecacpopularcnewscitemcinc2020cascCOVID-
19cvaccinescbeganctocbecdistributedcgloballycbycPfizercandcModerna.cThectwocvaccinescmustcbecstor
edcandctransportedcatcsub-zeroctemperatures.
6. Howchascthecrecentcglobalcpandemiccimpactedcsupplycchaincmanagement?
Answers:
Incgeneral,citcmadecthingscmorecdifficult,cparticularlycforcglobalcsupplycchains—
companieschavecgonecbankrupt,cretailerschavecstoppedcbuyingcregularly,cportschavecshutcdowncune
xpectedly,candcmanycpurchaseschavecgoneconlinecascpeoplecstayedchome.cCompanieschavechadctocr
eactcquicklyctocthecchanges.
7. Whatcrolescdoc―collaboration‖candc―trust‖cplaycincthecpracticecofcsupplycchaincmanagement?
Answers:
Thisciscessentialcforcprocesscintegration.cSharingcinformationcandcdeterminingcjointcstrategiesciscpart
cofcthecprocesscofcintegrationcandccollaboration,candctocdocthis,ctrustcmustcbecpresentcbetweencthecc
ustomer,cfocalcfirm,candcsupplier.
8. Whycdon’tcfirmscjustcbecomecmorecverticallycintegratedc(forcexamplecbuycoutcsupplierscandccu
stomers),cinsteadcofctryingctocmanagectheircsupplycchains?
Answers:
Thisccouldccausecaclosscofcfocuscandckeepcmanagerscandcemployeescfromcdoingctheirccoreccompetenc
ies,cresultingcinclosscofcperformance.
9. Whatctypescofcorganizationscwouldcbenefitcthecmostcfromcpracticingcsupplycchaincmanagement?cW
hatcsortscofcimprovementsccouldcbecexpected?
Answers:
Firmscwithcmanycsuppliers,cmanyccomplexcproducts,clargecinventories,candcmanyccustomersc(incothe
rcwords,cfirmscwithcmanycsupplycchains).cGainscwouldcbeclowercpurchasingccosts,clowerccarryingccost
s,cbettercproductcquality,candcbetterccustomercservice.
10. Whatcarecthecbenefitscofcsupplycchaincmanagement?
Answers:
Reductioncofcthecbullwhipceffect,cbettercbuyer/suppliercrelationships,cbettercquality,clowerccosts,cbett
erccustomercservice,chighercdemand,candcmorecprofits.
2
,11. Cancnonprofit,ceducational,corcgovernmentcorganizationscbenefitcfromcsupplycchaincmanagement?cH
ow?
Answers:
Yes.cAllcservicescandcorganizationsccancbenefitcinctermscofcatcleastcbetterccustomercservice,cbettercinv
entorycmanagement,candccheapercpurchasecprices.
12. Whatcdoescthecterm,c―third-tiercsupplier‖cmean?cWhatcaboutc―third-
tierccustomer‖?cWhatcaboutcthec―focalcfirm‖?cProvidecexamples.
Answers:
First-tiercsupplierscarecthecfocalcfirm’scdirectcsuppliers.cSecond-
tiercsupplierscarecthecfocalcfirm’scsuppliers’cdirectcsuppliers.cThird-
tiercsupplierscarecthecfocalcfirm’scsuppliers’csuppliers’csuppliers.cCompanycAcsellscwoodctocCompanycB
.cCompanycBcsellscfurniturectocCompanycC.cCompanycCcsellscthecfurniturectocWal-
Mart.cCompanycAciscWal-Mart’scthird-
tiercsupplier.cSimilarly,cthecfocalcfirm’sccustomers’ccustomers’ccustomerscarectheircthird-
tierccustomers.cThecfocalcfirmcjustcrefersctocthecfirmcincquestion,corcincthectopiccofcdiscussion.
13. Whatciscthecbullwhipceffectcandcwhatccausescit?cHowcwouldcyouctryctocreducecthecbullwhipceffect?
Answers:
Thecmagnificationcofcsafetycstockcandcerraticcbuyingcbehaviorcasccustomerscalongcthecsupplycchaincf
orecastcdemandcandcaddcsafetycstockctoctheircforecastscandcproductioncschedulesccausescthecbullwh
ipceffect.cAscwecmovecfurthercbackcupcthecsupplycchaincthen,cmorecandcmorecofcthecoutputciscincthecf
ormcofcsafetycstocks.cReducingcthecneedctocforecastc(bycagreeingconcacfuturecpurchasecquantitycorc
usingcCPFR)cisconecwayctocreducecthecbullwhipceffect.
14. Whencdidcthecideacandcterm,csupplycchaincmanagement,cfirstcbeginctocbecthoughtcaboutcandcdis
cussed?cWhichctwocoperationscmanagementcpracticescbecamecthecorigincofcsupplycchaincmana
gement?
Answers:
Thecgeneralcideacofcsupplycchaincmanagementchadcbeencdiscussedcforcmanycyearscpriorctocthecchain
cofceventscshowncincFigurec1.1.cBackcinc1915,cArchcW.cShawcofcthecHarvardcBusinesscSchoolcwrotecth
ectextbook,cSomecProblemscincMarketcDistribution,cconsideredcbycmanyctocbecthecfirstconcthectopiccofc
whatcwecnowcreferctocascsupplycchaincmanagement.cThectextcincludedcdiscussionscofchowcbestctocpur
chasecrawcmaterials,ctransportcproducts,clocatecfacilities,candcanalyzecproductivitycandcwaste.cAccor
dingctocC.cJohncLangley,cJr.,cprofessorcofcsupplycchaincmanagementcatcthecGeorgiacInstitutecofcTech
nology,c―Thecideacthatccompaniescoughtctocworkctogether,candccoordinatecactivitieschascalwayscbee
ncaround,cbutcaskcpeoplectodaycwhatconecofcthecbiggestcproblemscwithcsupplycchainscarectoday,candc
theycsayccompaniescdon’tcworkcverycwellctogether.‖
Thec1980scwerecthecbreakoutcyearscforcsupplycchaincmanagement.cOnecofcthecfirstcwidelycrecor
dedcusescofcthectermcsupplycchaincmanagementccamecaboutcincacpapercpublishedcinc1982.cIntensec
globalccompetitioncbeginningcincthec1980sc(andccontinuingctoday)cprovidedcancincentivecforcU.S.cma
nufacturersctocofferclower-cost,chigher-
qualitycproductscalongcwithchigherclevelscofccustomercservice.cManufacturerscutilizedcjust-in-
timec(JIT)candctotalcqualitycmanagementc(TQM)cstrategiesctocimprovecquality,cmanufacturingcefficie
ncy,candcdeliveryctimes.cIncacJITcmanufacturingcenvironmentcwithclittlecinventoryctoccushioncschedul
ing,cproductioncproblems,corcbothcfirmscbeganctocrealizecthecpotentialcbenefitscandcimportancecofcstr
ategiccandccooperativecsupplier-buyer-
customercrelationships.cThecconceptcofcthesecpartnershipscorcalliancescemergedcascmanufacturersce
xperimentedcwithcJITcandcTQM.cThesecwerecthecoriginscofcSCM.
15. Docyoucthinkcsupplycchaincmanagementciscsimplyctheclatestctrendcincmanagementcthinkingcandcwi
llcdiecoutcincacfewcyears?cWhycorcwhycnot?
Answers:
3
, Thiscanswercwillcvarycbecausecitcwascnotcspecificallycdiscussed.cHowever,cconsideringcthatcthecideas
cofcSCMchavecbeencaroundcforcmany,cmanycyearscmakes conecthinkcthatcthecpracticecischerectocstay.
16. Howchasctechnologycimpactedcsupplycchaincmanagement?
Answers:
SCMcsoftwarecandce-
commercechascaidedcsupplycchaincintegrationcandcaidedcincthecevolutioncandcadoptioncofcsupplycchai
ncmanagement.cSharingcinformationcwithcsupplycchaincpartnerscthroughcthecinternetchascenabledcfir
msctocintegratecstocking,clogistics,cmaterialscacquisition,cshipping,candcothercfunctionsctoccreatecacm
orecproactivecandceffectivecstylecofcbusinesscmanagementcandccustomercresponsiveness
17. Whatcarecthecfourcfoundationcelementscofcsupplycchaincmanagement?cDescribecsomecactivitiescw
ithinceachcelement.
Answers:
Thecfourcelementscarecsupplyc(supplycbasecreduction,csuppliercalliances,cSRM,cglobalcsourcing,cethic
alcandcsustainablecsourcing),coperationsc(demandcmanagement,cCPFR,cinventorycmanagement,cMR
P,cERP,cleancsystems,cSixcSigmacquality),clogisticsc(logisticscmanagement,cCRM,cnetworkcdesign,cRFI
D,cglobalcsupplycchains,csustainability,cservicecresponseclogistics),candcintegrationc(barriersctocintegr
ation,criskcandcsecuritycmanagement,cperformancecmeasurement,cgreencsupplycchains).
18. Iscthecusecofcaclargecnumbercofcsupplierscacgoodcidea?cWhy?
Answers:
Thiscsomewhatcdepends.cCertainly,cSCMcsuggestscfewercsupplierscandclonger-
termcrelationships;chowever,cthereccancalwayscbecexceptionsctocthiscrule.cPurchasingcacwidelycavaila
bleccommoncproductclikecsoapcorctissuecpapercmightcbecbettercdonecwithcmanycsuppliersccompetingcf
orcthiscbusiness.cButcthiscworkscagainstceverccreatingctrustingcandclastingcsupplycchaincpartnerships.c
Incmostccasescthough,cusecofcacfewckeycsupplierscforcancitemciscconsideredcacgoodcidea,csincecitcmea
nsclargercsupplycquantities,cleadingctoclowercpricescandcbettercservice.
19. Docyoucthinkcthecpropercwayctocchoosecacsuppliercisctocalwayscfindctheconecthatcwillcgivecyouctheclow
estcprice?cWhencmightcthiscnotcbecacgoodcidea?
Answers:
Absolutelycnot.cLowcpriceciscsometimescfine,cifcqualitycorcserviceciscnotcancissue,cascincbuyingcsomec
MROc(maintenance,crepair,candcoperations)citems.cButcwhencqualitycandcservicecmatter,cpricecshoul
dconlycbeconecofcthecpurchaseccriteria.
20. Whatciscsuppliercmanagement?cWhatcarecsomecofcthecactivitiescofcsuppliercmanagement?
Answers:
Simplycput,citcmeanscencouragingcorchelpingcthecfirm’scsuppliersctocperformcincsomecdesiredcfashion
,candctherecarecacfewcwaysctocdocthis.cThiscinvolvescassessingcsuppliers’ccurrentccapabilitiescandcthe
ncdecidingcifcandchowctheycneedctocimprovecthem.cThus,conecofctheckeycactivitiescincsuppliercmanag
ementciscsuppliercevaluationcorcdeterminingctheccurrentccapabilitiescofcsuppliers.
21. Whatciscthecdifferencecbetweencsupplycchaincmanagementcandclogistics?
Answers:
Logisticscinvolvesconlycthectransportationcandcdistributioncfunctions.cSCMcincludesclogisticscascwellcasc
production,csupplycmanagement,candcintegrationcofcprocesses.
22. Whatciscdemandcmanagementcandcwhyciscthiscancimportantcpartcofcsupplycchaincmanagement?
Answers:
4