SCM 455 MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE
Projects are a series of tasks with... - Answers --Specific objectives, defined start and
stop dates
-Limited resources, time, personnel, and budgets
What are typical supply management projects? - Answers -*Developing new products
within / across organizations
*Supplier development / improvement
*New internal systems (e.g. information technology)
*Developing sourcing / category strategy
Dimensions of a project - Answers -Defined scope:
*Project overview
*Agreed-upon tasks, responsibilities, deliverables
*Starting and ending points
*Costs
Defined success:
*Attainment of objectives (goals, time, budget, etc)
*Stakeholder satisfaction (client, user, mgt, etc.)
*Minimal modifications or disruptions
What is a Work Breadown Structure (WBS)? - Answers -Definition of a WBS:
*Summation of activities and resources required
*Broken down into tasks, subtasks, responsibilities, precedents, costs
*Like a bill of material for projects
Uses
*Simplify understanding, estimation, & control
*Basis for Gantt, PERT, other tools
Gantt Chart - Answers -Task, week, how long
Slack (in CPM) - Answers -*Maximum amount of leeway in tasks that will not delay the
project
*Calculated as LF - EF
*Useful for prioritizing tasks
Rules for Constructing a CPM Network - Answers -1. Identify each unique activity
2. "Arc" is relationship, "node" is an activity
3. Connect arcs and nodes by precedence
4. Arcs show progression
5. Networks generally start and stop at single node
, CPM Two-Pass Method - Answers -Forward Pass
*From start, compute ES & EF dates only
*ES is last precedent task's EF
*Last task EF is the project's EF
Backward Pass
Equate Project EF to Project LF
Backwards from Project LF, compute task LFs
All but critical path will have different EF & LF
What is a spend category? - Answers -A spend category is a convenient grouping of
like-spend items.
Group by inherent characteristics but also
Sourcing location (LCGs) or process
Volume or value
Use
Complexity
Corporate strategy (funnels down) - Answers -Define businesses
How acquire and allocate resources?
Business unit (BU) strategy - Answers -Specific business
Basis of competitive advantage (key)
Supply management (SM) strategy - Answers -Support desired business-level
strategies
Complement other functional areas (quality, engr, finance)
Spend Category strategy - Answers -How to define & manage supply of a particular
category to support the above strategies
Generic View of SM Strategy Process - Answers -***Pics***
1. Assess Situation
2. Analyze Possibilities
3. Define actions & scenarios
4. Execute & adapt
Feedback is continuous
1. Plan
2. Analyze
3. Execute
Category Strategy Process (5 Steps) - Answers -***Pic***
Projects are a series of tasks with... - Answers --Specific objectives, defined start and
stop dates
-Limited resources, time, personnel, and budgets
What are typical supply management projects? - Answers -*Developing new products
within / across organizations
*Supplier development / improvement
*New internal systems (e.g. information technology)
*Developing sourcing / category strategy
Dimensions of a project - Answers -Defined scope:
*Project overview
*Agreed-upon tasks, responsibilities, deliverables
*Starting and ending points
*Costs
Defined success:
*Attainment of objectives (goals, time, budget, etc)
*Stakeholder satisfaction (client, user, mgt, etc.)
*Minimal modifications or disruptions
What is a Work Breadown Structure (WBS)? - Answers -Definition of a WBS:
*Summation of activities and resources required
*Broken down into tasks, subtasks, responsibilities, precedents, costs
*Like a bill of material for projects
Uses
*Simplify understanding, estimation, & control
*Basis for Gantt, PERT, other tools
Gantt Chart - Answers -Task, week, how long
Slack (in CPM) - Answers -*Maximum amount of leeway in tasks that will not delay the
project
*Calculated as LF - EF
*Useful for prioritizing tasks
Rules for Constructing a CPM Network - Answers -1. Identify each unique activity
2. "Arc" is relationship, "node" is an activity
3. Connect arcs and nodes by precedence
4. Arcs show progression
5. Networks generally start and stop at single node
, CPM Two-Pass Method - Answers -Forward Pass
*From start, compute ES & EF dates only
*ES is last precedent task's EF
*Last task EF is the project's EF
Backward Pass
Equate Project EF to Project LF
Backwards from Project LF, compute task LFs
All but critical path will have different EF & LF
What is a spend category? - Answers -A spend category is a convenient grouping of
like-spend items.
Group by inherent characteristics but also
Sourcing location (LCGs) or process
Volume or value
Use
Complexity
Corporate strategy (funnels down) - Answers -Define businesses
How acquire and allocate resources?
Business unit (BU) strategy - Answers -Specific business
Basis of competitive advantage (key)
Supply management (SM) strategy - Answers -Support desired business-level
strategies
Complement other functional areas (quality, engr, finance)
Spend Category strategy - Answers -How to define & manage supply of a particular
category to support the above strategies
Generic View of SM Strategy Process - Answers -***Pics***
1. Assess Situation
2. Analyze Possibilities
3. Define actions & scenarios
4. Execute & adapt
Feedback is continuous
1. Plan
2. Analyze
3. Execute
Category Strategy Process (5 Steps) - Answers -***Pic***
