SCMN 3710 Exam 3 Study Guide, Practice Questions and Review 2026
Explain the various roles of distribution operations in Supply Chain Management. - correct
answer ✔✔• Enhance customer service
• Balance supply and demand
• Protect against uncertainty
• Allow quantity purchase discounts
• Support production requirements
• Fulfill omni-channel demand
• Promote transport
Explain the primary distribution functions of accumulation, sortation, allocation, and
assortment. - correct answer ✔✔• Accumulation- involves the receipt of goods from a variety
of sources• Sortation- focuses on assembling like products together for storage in the
distribution facility, processing, or transfer to customers
• Allocation- focuses on matching available inventory to customer orders for an SKU
• Assortment- involves the assembly of customer orders for multiple SKUs held in the
distribution facility.
As the number of warehouses increases, what happens to warehousing costs, inventory costs,
transportation costs, and cost of lost sales, and explain why - correct answer ✔✔• Warehousing
costs and inventory costs increase
• Transportation costs initially decrease bc the new warehouses lessen the need to travel far to
get products
• Costs of lost sales decrease.
What are some common challenges in running DCs? - correct answer ✔✔• Labor availability
issues
• Demand variation
, • Increasing customer requirements
How does Cross Docking work? - correct answer ✔✔practice in logistics of unloading materials
from an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car and loading these materials directly into
outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars, with little or no storage in between.
Explain the conditions when it is best to run your own (private) DC vs. using public warehousing
or contract warehousing (3PL), and which of these has fixed costs? - correct answer
✔✔Decisions on facility ownerships- private, public, or contract- should be made based on the
organizations expertise vs scope of tasks require and financial resources relative to the number
and size of facilities needed
How are WMS and auto ID tools such as bar codes and RFID used in DC operations? - correct
answer ✔✔WMS is used to manage fulfillment processes; auto id tools help machines identify
objects
Explain the primary DC product handling processes- Receiving, Put-Away, Storage,
Replenishment, Order Picking, and Shipping. - correct answer ✔✔• Receiving- schedule
carriers-unload vehicles-inspect freight- verify order
• Put away- identify product- verify location- fill storage/pick slots- direct fill orders.
• Storage- replenishment and put-away serve as storage locations
• Replenishment- re-supply pick slots- move pallet quantity orders to shipping dock- verify
moves.
• Order picking- travel to pick slots- validate SKU and quantity- fill customer orders- prep and
deliver product to shipping dock
What is slotting and what are some ways to optimize it - correct answer ✔✔The placement of
product in a facility for purpose of optimizing materials-handling and space efficiency;
Popularity, Unit Size, Cube
Explain the various roles of distribution operations in Supply Chain Management. - correct
answer ✔✔• Enhance customer service
• Balance supply and demand
• Protect against uncertainty
• Allow quantity purchase discounts
• Support production requirements
• Fulfill omni-channel demand
• Promote transport
Explain the primary distribution functions of accumulation, sortation, allocation, and
assortment. - correct answer ✔✔• Accumulation- involves the receipt of goods from a variety
of sources• Sortation- focuses on assembling like products together for storage in the
distribution facility, processing, or transfer to customers
• Allocation- focuses on matching available inventory to customer orders for an SKU
• Assortment- involves the assembly of customer orders for multiple SKUs held in the
distribution facility.
As the number of warehouses increases, what happens to warehousing costs, inventory costs,
transportation costs, and cost of lost sales, and explain why - correct answer ✔✔• Warehousing
costs and inventory costs increase
• Transportation costs initially decrease bc the new warehouses lessen the need to travel far to
get products
• Costs of lost sales decrease.
What are some common challenges in running DCs? - correct answer ✔✔• Labor availability
issues
• Demand variation
, • Increasing customer requirements
How does Cross Docking work? - correct answer ✔✔practice in logistics of unloading materials
from an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car and loading these materials directly into
outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars, with little or no storage in between.
Explain the conditions when it is best to run your own (private) DC vs. using public warehousing
or contract warehousing (3PL), and which of these has fixed costs? - correct answer
✔✔Decisions on facility ownerships- private, public, or contract- should be made based on the
organizations expertise vs scope of tasks require and financial resources relative to the number
and size of facilities needed
How are WMS and auto ID tools such as bar codes and RFID used in DC operations? - correct
answer ✔✔WMS is used to manage fulfillment processes; auto id tools help machines identify
objects
Explain the primary DC product handling processes- Receiving, Put-Away, Storage,
Replenishment, Order Picking, and Shipping. - correct answer ✔✔• Receiving- schedule
carriers-unload vehicles-inspect freight- verify order
• Put away- identify product- verify location- fill storage/pick slots- direct fill orders.
• Storage- replenishment and put-away serve as storage locations
• Replenishment- re-supply pick slots- move pallet quantity orders to shipping dock- verify
moves.
• Order picking- travel to pick slots- validate SKU and quantity- fill customer orders- prep and
deliver product to shipping dock
What is slotting and what are some ways to optimize it - correct answer ✔✔The placement of
product in a facility for purpose of optimizing materials-handling and space efficiency;
Popularity, Unit Size, Cube
