Texas SCM 4351 - Supply Chain management SSRM

1) How does a company quantify the value of SSRM?
a. Develop a SSRM program with systems to link purchasing, financial strategy and lean
organization, and then measure the results.
b. Create value and focus beyond the contract, improve supplier performance and deliver cost
reductions.
c. Measure the saving derived by lowering cost of goods sold. 2) How does one use vendor selection in developing strategic supplier relationships?
a. Help your most powerful stakeholders to adopt new procurement strategies.
b. Institute faster more effective resource allocation, improved problem solutions and mutual
commitment.
c. Objective decision making should be utilized; framework should be developed in house, and
presented to clients. 3) What is the best way to value SSRM in down times (current economic conditions)?
a. Stress mutual value, cost reduction and innovation.
b. Use cost modifying techniques to reduce costs, improve terms and deliveries.
c. Work with senior executives, as most buyers are too set in their ways to grasp the “big
picture”.
4) In a healthcare delivery environment, how does one re-define changes in business
relationships and improve functionality?
a. Formalize relationships with other hospitals and suppliers to determine which categories will
yield the highest return on resources via stated techniques and marketing resources.
b. Take advantage of a volume discount by buying larger quantities for multiple hospitals to
lower product costs.
c. Reduce overhead by combining & restructuring procurement departments, and improving
reporting. 5) Which answer best defines “Enterprise Resource Planning”? a. The European Commission reported that hospitals which incorporated information and
communication technology to ICT - supported sourcing, had moderate reductions and fairly
positive new effects.
b. Short term development, including a high degree of flexibility, openness, ability of buying and
budgets, nursing staff and logisticians are needed.
c. Systems integrating internal and external management information across an entire
organization, embracing finance, manufacturing, sale and service, customer relationship
management, etc. 6) How could improved collaboration between internal and external partners improve SRM
concepts and technologies?
a. Achieve the immediate objective of SRM to reduce paperwork, eliminate vendors and lower
overhead costs.
b. Integrating purchasing departments, medical device suppliers and trading enhances the
adoption of SRM concepts and technologies.
c. Reach long term goals which include patients and consultants to assist purchasing
departments on device features, cost effectiveness of procedures and to lower enhanced costs. 7) What is the definition and use of Conjoint Analysis?
a. The calculated benefit in reducing process cycle-times and cost of sourcing processes,
including intangible benefits between Purchasing and Information Technology Department.
b. Data collection leading to choice analysis and market segmentation.
c. A statistical technique used in market research to determine how people value different
features that make up products and services. 8) What are the goals of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?
a. The overall goal is to find, attract and win new clients, nurture and retain those the Company
already has, entice former clients back into the fold and reduce costs of marketing and client
services.
b. Removing all waste to streamline activities. After streamlining the processes, use IT
techniques to perform routine and repetitive activities to effectively reduce cost, cycle time and
improve quality. c. The goal is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the
boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. 9) What is the Six Sigma methods used to measure processes?
a. Six Sigma follows two methodologies, composed of five phases each: DMAIC and DMADV.
b. Formal Six Sigma programs adopt a ranking terminology to define a hierarchy that cuts
across all business functions.
c. The term “six sigma process” comes from the notion that if one has six standard deviations
between the process mean and the nearest specification limit, practically no items will fail to
meet specification. 10) What are the optimum solutions to improve performance of company’s supply chain
management?
a. Stronger controls over manufacturers, warehouses, wholesalers, retailers and consumers.
b. Reduce supply cost, improve product margins, increase output, improve customer
satisfactions and earn better return on investment.
c. Evaluate project impact, financial results; optimize resource plan real-time status reports,
teamwork and process reporting. 11) Is an organization better off reducing the number of suppliers to improve efficiencies?
a. Yes, fewer suppliers increase time available to cultivate key vendors.
b. No, by reducing suppliers the company is more dependent the remaining suppliers.
c. It is difficult to determine, as the number of processes that provide the goods or services can
be more important than the number of suppliers. 12) With inventory representing a very large percentage of assets, how does one control costs?
a. Cost controls can be found through an inventory management system. Improved controls
over demand, processes, supply, lead time and cost variances are some components.
b. Keeping the customer satisfied helps keep them loyal, insuring inventory will turn as
negotiated.
c. The key to reducing inventory costs is to increasingly involve suppliers and vendors in
carrying components for additional periods of time, thus lowering carrying costs. 13) How do customers benefit from the Six Sigma approach?
a. Customers will earn greater profits with lower inventory costs.
b. Customers will gain more control over product development.
c. Customers will obtain a reduction in defects, cycle time and gain greater satisfaction. 14) What are the “themes” of Six Sigma?
a. Achieve and maintain a defect level of 3.4 defects per million.
b. A statistical, measurement, and performance for a process or a product.
c. Customer attention, data driven, processes and proactive collaboration.