Analytics
Data-Driven Decision Making,
Performance & Forecasting
Latest Updated 2025–2026
supply chain - Answer✅consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer
request
supply chain surplus - Answer✅= customer value - supply chain cost
supply chain profitability - Answer✅the difference between the revenue generated from the
customer and the overall cost across the supply chain; the total profit ti be shared across all supply
chain stages and intermediaries
what is the primary purpose of the supply chain? - Answer✅to satisfy customer needs and, in the
process, generate profit for itself
What is the objective of a supply chain? - Answer✅to maximize the overall value generated
customer surplus - Answer✅the difference between the value of the product and its price remains
with the customer
supply chain management - Answer✅involves the management of supply chain assets and product,
information, and fund flows to grow the total supply chain surplus
, Decision phases in a supply chain - Answer✅1. Supply chain strategy or design
2. Supply chain planning
3. Supply chain operation
Supply Chain Decision Phases: Supply chain strategy or design - Answer✅Step 1; long-term; a
company decides how to structure the supple chain over the next several years; what the chain's
configuration will be, how resources will be allocated, and what processes each stage will perform
Supply Chain Decision Phases: Supply chain planning - Answer✅Step 2; a quarter to a year; establish
the goal to maximize supply chain surplus that can be generated over the horizon given the
constrained established during the design phase; includes regarding which markets will be supplied
from which locations, the subcontracting of manufacturing, the inventory policies to be followed, and
the timing and size of marketing and price promotions
Supply Chain Decision Phases: Supply chain operation - Answer✅Step 3; weekly or daily; companies
make decisions regarding individual customer orders; goal is to handle incoming customer orders in
the best possible manner; firms allocate inventory or production to individual orders, set a date by
which an order is to be filled, generate pick lists at a warehouse, allocate an order to a particular
shipping mode and shipment, set delivery schedules of trucks, and place replenishment orders.
cycle view - Answer✅the processes in a supply chain are divided into a series of cycles, each
performed at the interface between two successive stages of the supply chain
push/pull view - Answer✅the processes in a supply chain are divided into two categories depending
on whether they are executed in response to a customer order or in anticipation of customer order.
Pull processes are initiated by a customer order, whereas push processes are initiated and performed
in anticipation of customer orders.
Five Stages of Supply Chain - Answer✅Supplier, Manufacturer, Distributor, Retailer, Customers
Four process cycles of supply chain - Answer✅customer order cycle, replenishment cycle,
manufacturing cycle, procurement cycle
Subprocesses in Each Supply Chain Cycle - Answer✅1. Supplier stage markets product
2. Buyer stage places order
3. Supplier stage receives order
4. Supplier stage supplies order
5. Buyer stage receives supply
6. Buyer returns reverse flows to supplier or third party
Supply chain macro processes - Answer✅customer relationship management (CRM), internal supply
chain management (ISCM), supplier relationship management (SRM).
customer relationship management (CRM) - Answer✅all processes at the interface between the firm
and its customers; market, price, sell, call center, order management
internal supply chain management (ISCM) - Answer✅all processes that are internal to the firm;
strategic planning, demand planning, supply planning, fulfillment, field service
supplier relationship management (SRM) - Answer✅all processes at the interface between the firm
and its suppliers; source, negotiate, buy, design collaboration, supply collaboration
competitive strategy - Answer✅relative to its competitors, the set of customer needs that a
company seeks to satisfy through its products and services
strategy - Answer✅refers to what each process or function will try to do particularly well