SCMA Comprehensive Exam (SCMA 675) Questions and Answers (below) ; Latest 2026 -Virginia Commonwealth University.

SCMA Comprehensive Exam (Answer key below) Covers: Supply Management, Outsourcing, Quality, Forecasting, and Process Mapping 1. A company chooses to single source a key component to a supplier known for innovation. Which strategic benefit is the company most likely seeking? A) Lower switching costs B) Improved quality and collaboration C) Reduced dependency risk D) Faster multiple supplier competition 2. If a firm outsources a non-core activity to a foreign supplier and later decides to bring it back domestically, this is called: A) Near-shoring B) Offshoring C) Re-shoring D) Dual sourcing 3. A purchasing manager notices suppliers have long delivery times due to capacity limits. Which process improvement approach would best address this issue? A) Increasing demand variability B) Mapping the process to identify bottlenecks C) Reducing quality inspections D) Using more suppliers without analysis 4. Which of the following would NOT be a valid reason to make instead of buy a component? A) To protect intellectual property B) To reduce risk exposure C) To access specialized supplier technology D) To utilize idle capacity 5. According to Deming’s philosophy, the primary way to ensure quality is through: A) Final inspection of products B) Increasing quotas and slogans C) Prevention and continuous improvement in processes D) Rework and repair 6. If the bottleneck of a production line can handle 10 units per hour, the maximum process capacity per hour is: A) Determined by the average of all tasks B) 10 units per hour C) The sum of all task capacities D) Determined by the fastest station 7. A firm decides to outsource its IT support to focus more on research and product innovation. This demonstrates: A) Risk aversion B) Core competence focus C) Tactical cost cutting D) Reactive strategy 8. A process map primarily helps managers: A) Eliminate supplier contracts B) Visualize and improve workflow relationships C) Increase cycle time D) Automate without evaluation 9. If the correlation coefficient (r) between sales and advertising spend is 0.92, this suggests: A) A strong positive relationship B) No relationship C) A weak negative relationship D) The data are random 10. In supply chain management, risk assessment focuses on: A) Maximizing supplier quantity B) Balancing expected returns with potential disruptions C) Reducing product design variety D) Minimizing information sharing 11. When a process has high variability but low average demand, which forecasting method may be least effective? A) Weighted moving average B) Exponential smoothing with small alpha C) Naïve forecast D) Time series with trend adjustment 12. A process improvement team notices employees pass documents across multiple departments before approval. This represents: A) A bottleneck B) A value-adding step C) An unnecessary hand-off D) A quality checkpoint 13. When evaluating suppliers, ‘assurance of supply’ and ‘quality consistency’ are part of which evaluation level? A) Strategic B) Traditional C) Political D) Innovation 14. A higher alpha () value in exponential smoothing will: A) Make the forecast more stable B) Make the forecast more responsive to recent demand C) Reduce the influence of recent demand D) Eliminate forecast bias 15. If a company improves supplier relationships and shortens lead times, the effect on inventory levels will most likely be: A) Inventory will rise to meet variability B) Inventory will remain unchanged C) Inventory will decrease D) Inventory will fluctuate randomly 16. A process improvement program that emphasizes small, continuous changes driven by employees is known as: A) Lean outsourcing B) Kaizen C) JIT expansion D) TQM quota setting 17. Which is a key risk when relying too heavily on a single supplier? A) Simplified coordination B) Decreased dependency C) Reduced bargaining power D) Enhanced supply flexibility 18. A product’s durability and reliability fall under which of Garvin’s quality dimensions? A) Aesthetics and performance B) Reliability and durability C) Features and serviceability D) Perceived quality and support 19. Which of the following most directly measures process efficiency? A) Customer satisfaction B) Cycle time C) Market share D) Advertising reach 20. A firm that evaluates its suppliers on sustainability and innovation in addition to cost is applying which concept? A) Traditional sourcing B) Strategic sourcing C) Cost-focused purchasing D) Spot buying 21. If process throughput time decreases while output stays constant, the process efficiency: A) Decreases B) Remains constant C) Increases D) Cannot be determined 22. Which type of forecasting error measures average bias over time? A) MAPE B) MAD C) CFE D) MSE 23. Which of the following is a major advantage of using multiple suppliers? A) Lower coordination cost B) Higher supplier loyalty C) Assurance of supply and flexibility D) Easier partnership management 24. In process analysis, if Task 3 has the longest cycle time, it is: A) The process constraint B) The most efficient task C) A non-value-added activity D) The fastest step 25. According to Juran’s Cost of Quality model, reworking defective goods falls under: A) Prevention cost B) Appraisal cost C) Internal failure cost D) External failure cost 26. A manufacturing manager uses forecasting to align workforce scheduling with expected sales. This represents forecasting used for: A) Marketing B) Finance C) Operations planning D) Accounting 27. A high MAPE value in forecast results typically suggests: A) Forecasts are consistently accurate B) Forecasts have high average percentage error C) The model has no bias D) Data has zero variability 28. When a company outsources to lower labor costs but faces higher transportation and tariffs, this demonstrates the importance of considering: A) Comparative advantage only B) Total landed cost C) Price-to-quality ratio D) Fixed labor cost 29. In a supply chain, which element most directly influences sustainability performance? A) Sales team incentives B) Supplier sourcing decisions C) Customer loyalty programs D) Outsourcing IT 30. A process with long waiting times and low utilization likely suffers from: A) Overcapacity B) Bottleneck delays C) Perfect flow D) High process velocity 31. According to Deming’s principles, driving out fear in the workplace encourages: A) Compliance with quotas B) Employee engagement and innovation C) Stricter supervision D) Centralized decision-making 32. In exponential smoothing, a small alpha () value is best for: A) Highly erratic demand B) Stable demand with little change C) Rapidly changing trends D) Forecasting start-ups 33. A manager uses regression analysis to relate demand to advertising spend. This is an example of: A) Judgmental forecasting B) Causal forecasting C) Time series analysis D) Naïve projection 34. If a supplier fails to comply with environmental regulations, the buyer faces what kind of risk? A) Financial risk B) Operational risk C) Reputational risk D) Supply continuity risk 35. Which of the following would most likely increase process capacity? A) Adding parallel resources at the bottleneck B) Reducing training C) Increasing inspection steps D) Decreasing worker skills 36. A restaurant adds a new line for take-out orders to speed up service. This improves: A) Cycle time but not throughput B) Bottleneck capacity and throughput C) Cost but not quality D) Process complexity 37. A high value of r² in a regression forecast implies: A) The independent variable explains much of the variation in the dependent variable B) A poor model fit C) Random correlation D) Overfitting of data 38. Which of the following aligns best with Lean principles? A) Reducing waste and focusing on customer value B) Maximizing inventory buffers C) Increasing inspection at each stage D) Using multiple bottlenecks intentionally 39. A key difference between service and product quality is that services: A) Can be stored for later B) Are tangible and consistent C) Depend heavily on customer interaction D) Do not involve variability 40. A process that transforms customer orders into finished goods demonstrates which core concept? A) Demand management B) Process transformation C) Outsourcing efficiency D) Statistical control