Comprehensive SCM 300 Exam 1 study guide Questions with
Correct Answers (Grade A+)
Question 1: Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Answer: the effective and efficient integration of the suppliers, manufacturers, transportation organizations,
and any other party responsible for collectively bringing products to market
Question 2: Procurement
Answer: This is known as the purchasing branch of a company. They're responsible for getting materials,
equipment, products, and services for their company. They have to find suppliers, choose the one that gives
the best value, negotiate purchase terms, place orders, and develop a long term relationship with supplier so
that consistent quality can be expected from the supplier over a long period of time
Question 3: Operations
Answer: Branch of the supply chain responsible for making business processes effective and efficient. They
seek to help the company create high quality products/services while using the fewest resources possible.
They have to try to do things faster with as few workers and machines as possible and they need to have
things done right before the customer needs them
Question 4: Logistics
Answer: branch responsible for finding the right transportation and storage partners to successfully navigate
the flow of materials from the point of origin to the final destination
Question 5: Reverse Logistics
Answer: the management of products that flow backward in the supply chain, away from the consumer and
back in the direction of manufacturers. (the management of materials moving upstream in the supply chain)
Question 6: Global SCM
Answer: Effective and efficient management of supply chain partners across multiple countries
Question 7: 1st-tier suppliers
Answer: a company's direct suppliers. A firm that directly provides goods/services to a company.
Page 1
,Question 8: Downstream supply chain
Answer: the direction that points toward the end consumer in a supply chain. (it goes to the right in the
chain)
Question 9: In order for supply chains to function and develop, three things must continuously flow:
____________, _____________, and _________________.
Answer: Materials, Money, and Information
Question 10: Business Model
Answer: a company's plan for how it will purchase items, transform them, deliver them, and sell them in an
effort to produce a profit
Question 11: Supply Chain visibility
Answer: the ability to see what is happening with inventory upstream and downstream in a supply chain.
You want to be able to predict and account for the demand before you need it and how much will get there
by a certain time. the ability to do this is inventory/supply chain visibility
Question 12: Profit's relationship to SCM
Answer: Profit = Revenue - Cost Costs involved in Supply chain include: materials, labor, energy,
transportation, packaging, storage, defects, insurance...
Question 13: Competitive priorities
Answer: Cost, Quality, Speed, and Flexibility Tracking performance in cost, quality, speed, and flexibility is
vital to knowing whether the company is meeting its goals in the present and working towards better
performance in the future. Each industry has different competitive priorities. For example fast food places
focus on low cost, average but consistent quality, quick delivery, and flexibility regarding what you put on a
burger. While sit down restaurants focus on high quality burgers, reasonable delivery times, specialty
burger, and charge a higher price
Question 14: Core competencies
Answer: primary advantages a company has over its competitors. Typically a core competency is extremely
difficult or near impossible to replicate
Page 2
,Question 15: Productivity vs. Value
Answer: Value= output purchased / inputs used to purchase the products or service. Value can be increased
by giving the customer more for the same price, or by giving them the same amount at a lower price. Ex:
amt of soup / $ paid for the soup Productivity= The ratio of outputs to inputs. From a manufacturing
perspective companies seek to maximize the amount of outputs that can be produced and delivered to
market while minimizing the required inputs. Productivity is a relative term, so typically it can only be
compared to the productivity of periods that precede the present productivity. Ex: if you make 200 of
something and each one of it valued at $10 and the material cost were $1000 total to create them all the
productivity would be the {amt (200) * the value ($10)} / the total cost to make them ($1000) = 2000/1000=
Productivity = 2
Question 16: Primary Supply Chain Goals
Answer: goal is effectiveness, efficiency, and adaptability. To make high quality products in a timely
fashion while meeting the needs of a customer.
Question 17: Seven types of waste
Answer: Defects, overproduction, transportation, motion, waiting, inventory, overprocessing
Question 18: Keys to being a successful SC Manager
Answer: Satisfy the needs of the customer, satisfy the needs of the company, be prepared for the future
Question 19: SC Strategy
Answer: Understand the product/service and the market desires, develop a business model, organize the
right group of supply chain partners
Question 20: SC Tools
Answer: supply chain metrics, information technology tools, relationship management skills, financial
resources, organizational integration
Question 21: Anatomy story:
Answer: The human body is a system where each part of the body functions interdependently. The body is
strong, lean, and flexible. By understanding the anatomy of the human body scientist have been able to
prolong human life and increase athletic performance. Supply chain is just like this because the supply chain
focuses on getting thins, making, things, and moving things and to understand how to build a better chain
you also need to know and understand the parts and how they interact with each other.
Page 3
, Question 22: For sandwich factors to consider=
Answer: Purchasing: where will we buy stuff for it Manufacturing and Operations: if we have all of the
ingredients, how will we make the sandwich, what will it take, how will we clean it up, will we save some
for tomorrow Transportation and Logistics: Now we need to prep that sandwich to travel. what will we use,
how will we keep it cool etc.
Question 23: Supply chain management is a place where what matters?
Answer: purchasing, operations, and logistics are what matters.
Question 24: Supply chain managers think about what?
Answer: buying things, making things, moving things making them better, making them faster, and doing it
with minimal waste.
Question 25: 2nd-tier suppliers
Answer: A firm that provides goods/services to a company's first-tier supplier
Question 26: ____ tier suppliers get the stuff first then transport that to ____ tier suppliers
Answer: 2nd; 1st
Question 27: Upstream supply chain
Answer: the direction that points toward the suppliers in a supply chain (the left/backwards)
Question 28: ROI's relationship to SCM:
Answer: ROI= An economic measure that helps evaluate the return of an investment. ROI = Total profit/
Total investment SCM involves the costs aspects of a product (the investment side of the equation) as well
as the delivery/quality aspect of a product in that people will be willing to pay more for a better made
product (this involves the profit side of the equation) 4 competitive priorities: 1. _______: materials, energy,
wages, transportation, rent... 2. ________: Design, reliability, consistency, materials and fabrics... 3.
_________: Delivery, on-time, innovation time...
Question 29: 4. ___________: customization, size of order, design...
Answer: 1. Cost 2. Quality 3. Speed 4. Flexibility Efficient Integration of: • Suppliers and Manufacturers
Page 4
Correct Answers (Grade A+)
Question 1: Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Answer: the effective and efficient integration of the suppliers, manufacturers, transportation organizations,
and any other party responsible for collectively bringing products to market
Question 2: Procurement
Answer: This is known as the purchasing branch of a company. They're responsible for getting materials,
equipment, products, and services for their company. They have to find suppliers, choose the one that gives
the best value, negotiate purchase terms, place orders, and develop a long term relationship with supplier so
that consistent quality can be expected from the supplier over a long period of time
Question 3: Operations
Answer: Branch of the supply chain responsible for making business processes effective and efficient. They
seek to help the company create high quality products/services while using the fewest resources possible.
They have to try to do things faster with as few workers and machines as possible and they need to have
things done right before the customer needs them
Question 4: Logistics
Answer: branch responsible for finding the right transportation and storage partners to successfully navigate
the flow of materials from the point of origin to the final destination
Question 5: Reverse Logistics
Answer: the management of products that flow backward in the supply chain, away from the consumer and
back in the direction of manufacturers. (the management of materials moving upstream in the supply chain)
Question 6: Global SCM
Answer: Effective and efficient management of supply chain partners across multiple countries
Question 7: 1st-tier suppliers
Answer: a company's direct suppliers. A firm that directly provides goods/services to a company.
Page 1
,Question 8: Downstream supply chain
Answer: the direction that points toward the end consumer in a supply chain. (it goes to the right in the
chain)
Question 9: In order for supply chains to function and develop, three things must continuously flow:
____________, _____________, and _________________.
Answer: Materials, Money, and Information
Question 10: Business Model
Answer: a company's plan for how it will purchase items, transform them, deliver them, and sell them in an
effort to produce a profit
Question 11: Supply Chain visibility
Answer: the ability to see what is happening with inventory upstream and downstream in a supply chain.
You want to be able to predict and account for the demand before you need it and how much will get there
by a certain time. the ability to do this is inventory/supply chain visibility
Question 12: Profit's relationship to SCM
Answer: Profit = Revenue - Cost Costs involved in Supply chain include: materials, labor, energy,
transportation, packaging, storage, defects, insurance...
Question 13: Competitive priorities
Answer: Cost, Quality, Speed, and Flexibility Tracking performance in cost, quality, speed, and flexibility is
vital to knowing whether the company is meeting its goals in the present and working towards better
performance in the future. Each industry has different competitive priorities. For example fast food places
focus on low cost, average but consistent quality, quick delivery, and flexibility regarding what you put on a
burger. While sit down restaurants focus on high quality burgers, reasonable delivery times, specialty
burger, and charge a higher price
Question 14: Core competencies
Answer: primary advantages a company has over its competitors. Typically a core competency is extremely
difficult or near impossible to replicate
Page 2
,Question 15: Productivity vs. Value
Answer: Value= output purchased / inputs used to purchase the products or service. Value can be increased
by giving the customer more for the same price, or by giving them the same amount at a lower price. Ex:
amt of soup / $ paid for the soup Productivity= The ratio of outputs to inputs. From a manufacturing
perspective companies seek to maximize the amount of outputs that can be produced and delivered to
market while minimizing the required inputs. Productivity is a relative term, so typically it can only be
compared to the productivity of periods that precede the present productivity. Ex: if you make 200 of
something and each one of it valued at $10 and the material cost were $1000 total to create them all the
productivity would be the {amt (200) * the value ($10)} / the total cost to make them ($1000) = 2000/1000=
Productivity = 2
Question 16: Primary Supply Chain Goals
Answer: goal is effectiveness, efficiency, and adaptability. To make high quality products in a timely
fashion while meeting the needs of a customer.
Question 17: Seven types of waste
Answer: Defects, overproduction, transportation, motion, waiting, inventory, overprocessing
Question 18: Keys to being a successful SC Manager
Answer: Satisfy the needs of the customer, satisfy the needs of the company, be prepared for the future
Question 19: SC Strategy
Answer: Understand the product/service and the market desires, develop a business model, organize the
right group of supply chain partners
Question 20: SC Tools
Answer: supply chain metrics, information technology tools, relationship management skills, financial
resources, organizational integration
Question 21: Anatomy story:
Answer: The human body is a system where each part of the body functions interdependently. The body is
strong, lean, and flexible. By understanding the anatomy of the human body scientist have been able to
prolong human life and increase athletic performance. Supply chain is just like this because the supply chain
focuses on getting thins, making, things, and moving things and to understand how to build a better chain
you also need to know and understand the parts and how they interact with each other.
Page 3
, Question 22: For sandwich factors to consider=
Answer: Purchasing: where will we buy stuff for it Manufacturing and Operations: if we have all of the
ingredients, how will we make the sandwich, what will it take, how will we clean it up, will we save some
for tomorrow Transportation and Logistics: Now we need to prep that sandwich to travel. what will we use,
how will we keep it cool etc.
Question 23: Supply chain management is a place where what matters?
Answer: purchasing, operations, and logistics are what matters.
Question 24: Supply chain managers think about what?
Answer: buying things, making things, moving things making them better, making them faster, and doing it
with minimal waste.
Question 25: 2nd-tier suppliers
Answer: A firm that provides goods/services to a company's first-tier supplier
Question 26: ____ tier suppliers get the stuff first then transport that to ____ tier suppliers
Answer: 2nd; 1st
Question 27: Upstream supply chain
Answer: the direction that points toward the suppliers in a supply chain (the left/backwards)
Question 28: ROI's relationship to SCM:
Answer: ROI= An economic measure that helps evaluate the return of an investment. ROI = Total profit/
Total investment SCM involves the costs aspects of a product (the investment side of the equation) as well
as the delivery/quality aspect of a product in that people will be willing to pay more for a better made
product (this involves the profit side of the equation) 4 competitive priorities: 1. _______: materials, energy,
wages, transportation, rent... 2. ________: Design, reliability, consistency, materials and fabrics... 3.
_________: Delivery, on-time, innovation time...
Question 29: 4. ___________: customization, size of order, design...
Answer: 1. Cost 2. Quality 3. Speed 4. Flexibility Efficient Integration of: • Suppliers and Manufacturers
Page 4
