A distributor has heard that one of the major manufacturers from which it buys is considering going direct to the consumer. What can the distributor do about this? What advantages can it offer the manufacturer that the manufacturer is unlikely to be able to reproduce?
> How can a firm use pricing to change demand patterns?
> Discuss how a company can get marketing and operations to work together with the common goal of coordinating supply and demand to maximize profitability.
> What are some product lines that use common parts across many products? What are the advantages of doing this?
> Discuss how you would set up a collaboration mechanism for the enterprises in a supply chain.
> In which industries would you tend to see dual facility types (some facilities focusing on only one type of product and others able to produce a wide variety)? In what industries would this be relatively rare? Why?
> Discuss why the use of subcontractors to handle peak demand can often allow a company to meet demand at lower cost even though the subcontractor price is higher than the average unit cost of the company.
> What are some obstacles to creating a flexible workforce? What are the benefits?
> How can aggregate planning be used in an environment of high demand uncertainty?
> What are some factors that influence implied uncertainty? How does the implied uncertainty differ between an integrated steel mill that measures lead times in months and requires large orders and a steel service center that promises 24-hour lead times an
> What are some key issues to consider when picking an aggregate unit of analysis?
> If a company currently employs the chase strategy and the cost of training increases dramatically, how might this change the company’s aggregate planning strategy?
> How does the availability of subcontracting affect the aggregate planning problem?
> What are the major cost categories needed as inputs for aggregate planning?
> What types of industries or situations are best suited to the chase strategy? The flexibility strategy? The level strategy?
> What are the main differences among the aggregate planning strategies?
> What are the characteristics of these industries that make them good candidates for aggregate planning?
> What are some industries in which aggregate planning would be particularly important?
> What information do the MSE, MAD, and MAPE provide to a manager? How can the manager use this information?
> How do static and adaptive forecasting methods differ?
> In what way do supply chain flows affect the success or failure of a firm such as Amazon? List two supply chain decisions that have a significant impact on supply chain profitability.
> What is the problem if a manager uses last year’s sales data instead of last year’s demand to forecast demand for the coming year?
> Give examples of products that display seasonality of demand.
> Why should a manager be suspicious if a forecaster claims to forecast historical demand without any forecast error?
> What systematic and random components would you expect in demand for chocolates?
> What role does forecasting play in the supply chain of a mail order firm such as LL Bean?
> How could Apple use collaborative forecasting with its suppliers to improve its supply chain?
> What information do the bias and TS provide to a manager? How can the manager use this information?
> What role does forecasting play in the supply chain of a build-to-order server manufacturer such as Dell?
> What are some major nonfinancial uncertainties that a company should consider when making decisions on where to source product?
> What are the major financial uncertainties faced by an electronic components manufacturer deciding whether to build a plant in Thailand or the United States?
> Consider the supply chain involved when a customer orders a book from Amazon. Identify the push/pull boundary and two processes each in the push and pull phases.
> Discuss why using expected trends for the future can lead to different supply chain decisions relative to decision tree analysis that accounts for uncertainty.
> Summarize the basic steps in the decision tree analysis methodology.
> Describe the basic principle of DCFs and how it can be used to compare different streams of cash flows.
> What are the major sources of uncertainty that can affect the value of supply chain decisions?
> Why is it important to consider uncertainty when evaluating supply chain design decisions?
> Consider a firm such as Ford, with more than 150 facilities worldwide. List the pros and cons of having many facilities and why this model may or may not be suitable for the automobile industry.
> Consider a firm such as Apple or Dell, with few production facilities worldwide. List the pros and cons of this approach and why it may or may not be suitable for the computer industry.
> McMaster-Carr sells MRO equipment from five warehouses in the United States. W.W. Grainger sells products from more than 300 retail locations, supported by several warehouses. In both cases, customers place orders using the Internet or on the phone. Disc
> Amazon has built new warehouses as it has grown. How does this change affect various costs and response times in the Amazon supply chain?
> How is a rise in transportation costs likely to affect global supply chain networks?
> Consider the supply chain involved when a customer purchases a book at a bookstore. Identify the cycles in this supply chain and the location of the push/pull boundary.
> How do import duties and exchange rates affect the location decision in a supply chain?
> How do the location and size of warehouses affect the performance of a firm such as Amazon? What factors should Amazon take into account when deciding where and how big its warehouses should be?
> Consider the sale of home improvement products at Home Depot or a chain of hardware stores such as True Value. Which can extract the greatest benefit from adding the online channel? Why?
> Is the online channel likely to be more beneficial in the early part or the mature part of a product’s life cycle? Why?
> Why has the online channel been more successful in the computer hardware industry compared with the grocery industry? In the future, how valuable is the online channel likely to be in the computer hardware industry?
> In the future, do you see the value added by distributors decreasing, increasing, or staying about the same?
> What types of distribution networks are typically best suited for commodity items?
> A specialty chemical company is considering expanding its operations into Brazil, where five companies dominate the consumption of specialty chemicals. What sort of distribution network should this company use?
> Amazon has opened bookstores and announced the opening of convenience stores. How can these traditional retail channels allow Amazon to complement its online channel effectively?
> What are some strategic, planning, and operational decisions that must be made by an apparel retailer such as Gap?
> 1. It has been said that a smartphone is a computer in your hand. Discuss the security implications of this statement. 2. What kinds of security problems do mobile computing devices pose? 3. What management, organizational, and technology factors must b
> Why should an online channel such as Amazon build more warehouses as its sales volume grows?
> 1. Why are human resources and talent management so important at Steelcase? 2. Identify the problem described in this case. What management, organization and technology factors contributed to this problem? What role did globalization play? 3. Describe th
> 1. How important was the human resources project for Snohomish PUD? Why? 2. Classify and describe the management, organization, and technology issues the project had to address in order to implement the new system successfully. How did the project team d
> 1. What management, organization, and technology issues need to be addressed when building a mobile application? 2. How does user requirement definition for mobile applications differ from traditional systems analysis? 3. Describe Alex and Ani’s sales pr
> 1. How important is location data to Starbucks’s business strategy? Explain your answer. 2. How do location analytics help Starbucks managers make better decisions? Give examples of two decisions that the Atlas system helps support 3. Compare Starbucks d
> 1. Why have robots caught on in manufacturing? What knowledge do they require? 2. Can robots replace human workers in manufacturing? Explain your answer. 3. If you were considering introducing robots in your manufacturing plant, what management, organiza
> 1. Analyze Instacart using the value chain and competitive forces models. What competitive forces does the company have to deal with? What is its value proposition? 2. Explain how Instacart’s business model works. How does the company generate revenue? 3
> 1. What was the problem at Celcom described in this case? What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to this problem? 2. What was Celcom’s business strategy, and what was the role of customer relationship management in that strateg
> 1. How should BioPharma have used its production network in 2013? Should any of the plants have been idled? What is the annual cost of your proposal, including import duties? 2. How should Landgraf structure his global production network? Assume that the
> The objective of this case is to discuss how different business models and supply chain structures impact the financials of the firms in the DVD rental business. In particular, the goal is to convey that the characteristics of the movie (recent/big hit o
> The objective of this case is to discuss how different business models and supply chain structures impact the financials of the firms in the DVD rental business. In particular, the goal is to convey that the characteristics of the movie (recent/big hit o
> Amazon.com sells books, music, electronics, software, toys, and home improvement products online. In which product category does going online offer the greatest advantage compared with a retail store chain? In which product category does the online chann
> The learning objectives of the case are to (1) understand the link between supply chain structure and financial performance, (2) identify key drivers of supply chain performance and how they affect a firm’s ability to respond during periods of strong o
> 1. Describe the technical and organizational obstacles to e-commerce growth in India. 2. How do these factors hamper companies from doing business in India or setting up Indian e-commerce sites? 3. Will non-Indian companies like Amazon.com and eBay flour
> 1. Why is paperless NHS a risky project? Identify the key risk factors. 2. What management, organization, and technology problems is the paperless NHS likely to encounter? 3. What steps should be taken to make the paperless NHS more successful?
> 1. What were Fujitsu’s problems with its existing systems for the CPQ process? What was the business impact of these problems? 2. List and describe the most important information requirements you would expect to see in Fujitsu’s RFP. 3. Why was the FPX C
> 1. How did information technology change the game of baseball and America’s Cup sailboat racing? Explain. 2. How did information technology affect decision making at Team USA and the Oakland Athletics? What kinds of decisions changed as the result of usi
> 1. Describe the knowledge management problem discussed in this case study. 2. What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to the problem? 3. How did implementing enterprise content management solve the problem? How did the new ECM s
> 1. Assess the management, organization, and technology issues for using social media to engage with customers 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media for advertising, brand building, market research, and customer service? 3. Gi
> 1. Identify the supply chain management problems LG Electronics faced. What was the business impact of its inability to manage its supply chain well? 2. What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to LG’s supply chain problems? 3. H
> 1. Identify the problem and the control weaknesses described in this case. 2. What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to this problem? To what extent was it a technology problem? To what extent was it a management and organizati
> The goal of this case is to illustrate how a firm can be successful by structuring its supply chain to support its supply chain strategy. Once Seven-Eleven Japan decided to provide responsiveness by rapid replenishment, it then structured its facilities,
> What differences in the retail environment may justify the fact that the fast-moving consumer goods supply chain in India has far more distributors than it has in the United States?
> List and describe the major management issues in developing international systems.
> What type of distribution network is best suited to highly differentiated products?
> List and describe the different levels of decision making and decision-making constituencies in organizations. Explain how their decision-making requirements differ.
> What are some benefits to improved sustainability of a supply chain?
> Identify and describe three steps of a management strategy for developing and implementing global systems.
> Identify and describe three principles to follow when organizing the firm for global business.
> Describe the four different system configurations that can be used to support different global strategies.
> Describe the four main strategies for global business and organizational structure.
> Explain why some firms have not planned for the development of international systems.
> List and describe the major challenges to the development of global systems.
> On which supply chain drivers should a firm trying to shrink its cash-to-cash cycle focus?
> Describe the five general cultural factors leading toward growth in global business and the four specific business factors. Describe the interconnection among these factors.
> Identify some technologies that will help firms develop global systems.
> Describe the main technical issues facing global systems.
> Define cooptation and explain how it can be used in building global systems.
> List and describe the five major dimensions for developing an international information systems architecture.
> Explain why builders of new information systems need to address implementation and change management.
> Identify and describe each of the principal risk factors in information systems projects.
> Distinguish between tangible and intangible benefits.
> List and describe the major costs and benefits of information systems.
> Explain how key performance indicators, portfolio analysis, and scoring models can be used to select information systems projects.
> How can the full set of logistical and cross-functional drivers be used to create strategic fit for a cell phone manufacturer targeting both time sensitive and price conscious customers?
> Describe the purpose of an information systems plan and list the major categories in the plan.
> Name and describe the groups responsible for the management of information systems projects.
