SCM 300 Module 3 Questions with Correct Answers (Grade A+)
Question 1: Key Issues Manufacturing layout
Answer: • Labor - Wages, technical skills, work ethic, culture, language • Facility, infrastructure, and
utilities - Are the site and available facilities adequate for the intended purpose? • Laws - Labor, Intellectual
property, environmental regulations, criminal • Resource availability - Supplies, raw materials, fuel, energy
• Local risks - Crime, law enforcement, politics, • Climate - Will the temperature and weather conditions be
appropriate for the product, machines, and employees? • Transportation and transportation infrastructure •
Trade agreements, tariffs, and quotas
Question 2: Established channels of distribution
Answer: Channels of distribution represent the chain of organizations that help bring a product into the
hands of the end user. This might include packaging companies, delivery companies, warehouses,
distribution centers, and perhaps even suppliers. So, established channels of distribution implies that a
certain chain of organizations have an established history of working together and perhaps coordinating
supply chain actions. This advanced relationship might imply that transactions occur regularly and perhaps
more fluidly.
Question 3: Established Supplier Base
Answer: A company's supplier base is the collection of companies from which an organization presently
purchases products and/or services. So, an established supplier base implies that an organization has a group
of companies with which they have developed a working relationship. This advanced relationship might
imply that transactions occur regularly and perhaps more fluidly.
Question 4: Hyper competitive markets
Answer: This can refer to an industry that is heavily concentrated in a particular region, where the
companies compete fiercely. This intense and concentrated competition may result in rapid innovation but
short cycles of competitive advantage.
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, Question 5: relationship between design, marketing, and SCM
Answer: Marketing identifies a target market. Designers and engineers work to develop products that satisfy
the needs of the target market. Supply chain must then buy parts, manufacture hundreds or thousands of
those end items, and then deliver them into the hands of the customer. Without the coordination of
marketing, design, and supply chain, companies may manufacture a great product that is not valued by their
target market. • Perhaps a company may know their target market, but designers fail to consider their desires
and preferences. Imagine if Starbucks started selling a line of premium deli meats. Starbucks customers may
love deli meats, but they just may not want to buy them at Starbucks, nor are Starbucks facilities equipped to
store and sell deli meats. • Imagine if McDonald's developed a premium half-pound make-to-order
hamburger that costs $10 and took 10 minutes to prepare. What might be the impact on the kitchen, the
drive-thru lines, etc. • Perhaps, Apple creates beautiful cell phones with wonderful features their target
market desires, but the parts are low-quality and the phones are neither durable nor reliable. In modern
companies coordination and integration are vital to long-term success.
Question 6: strategic decisions
Answer: Decisions made at the highest levels of the organization. These decisions provide direction for the
company by identifying target markets, business models, and potentially product or service categories in
which the company would like to compete. These decisions typically provide the organization and its
primary functional areas long-range goals.
Question 7: design decisions
Answer: Decisions that seek to satisfy a target market in a particular product or service category. Decisions
that provide a more specific road map to satisfying strategic goals.
Question 8: operating decisions
Answer: Decisions that impact the organization in the short-term. Typically operating decisions relate to the
daily operations that are performed in a company on a routine basis.
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Question 1: Key Issues Manufacturing layout
Answer: • Labor - Wages, technical skills, work ethic, culture, language • Facility, infrastructure, and
utilities - Are the site and available facilities adequate for the intended purpose? • Laws - Labor, Intellectual
property, environmental regulations, criminal • Resource availability - Supplies, raw materials, fuel, energy
• Local risks - Crime, law enforcement, politics, • Climate - Will the temperature and weather conditions be
appropriate for the product, machines, and employees? • Transportation and transportation infrastructure •
Trade agreements, tariffs, and quotas
Question 2: Established channels of distribution
Answer: Channels of distribution represent the chain of organizations that help bring a product into the
hands of the end user. This might include packaging companies, delivery companies, warehouses,
distribution centers, and perhaps even suppliers. So, established channels of distribution implies that a
certain chain of organizations have an established history of working together and perhaps coordinating
supply chain actions. This advanced relationship might imply that transactions occur regularly and perhaps
more fluidly.
Question 3: Established Supplier Base
Answer: A company's supplier base is the collection of companies from which an organization presently
purchases products and/or services. So, an established supplier base implies that an organization has a group
of companies with which they have developed a working relationship. This advanced relationship might
imply that transactions occur regularly and perhaps more fluidly.
Question 4: Hyper competitive markets
Answer: This can refer to an industry that is heavily concentrated in a particular region, where the
companies compete fiercely. This intense and concentrated competition may result in rapid innovation but
short cycles of competitive advantage.
Page 1
, Question 5: relationship between design, marketing, and SCM
Answer: Marketing identifies a target market. Designers and engineers work to develop products that satisfy
the needs of the target market. Supply chain must then buy parts, manufacture hundreds or thousands of
those end items, and then deliver them into the hands of the customer. Without the coordination of
marketing, design, and supply chain, companies may manufacture a great product that is not valued by their
target market. • Perhaps a company may know their target market, but designers fail to consider their desires
and preferences. Imagine if Starbucks started selling a line of premium deli meats. Starbucks customers may
love deli meats, but they just may not want to buy them at Starbucks, nor are Starbucks facilities equipped to
store and sell deli meats. • Imagine if McDonald's developed a premium half-pound make-to-order
hamburger that costs $10 and took 10 minutes to prepare. What might be the impact on the kitchen, the
drive-thru lines, etc. • Perhaps, Apple creates beautiful cell phones with wonderful features their target
market desires, but the parts are low-quality and the phones are neither durable nor reliable. In modern
companies coordination and integration are vital to long-term success.
Question 6: strategic decisions
Answer: Decisions made at the highest levels of the organization. These decisions provide direction for the
company by identifying target markets, business models, and potentially product or service categories in
which the company would like to compete. These decisions typically provide the organization and its
primary functional areas long-range goals.
Question 7: design decisions
Answer: Decisions that seek to satisfy a target market in a particular product or service category. Decisions
that provide a more specific road map to satisfying strategic goals.
Question 8: operating decisions
Answer: Decisions that impact the organization in the short-term. Typically operating decisions relate to the
daily operations that are performed in a company on a routine basis.
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