Material and Inventory Management Questions
Part 1 Introduction to Supply Chain Management
Primary Task Response: write 400–600 words
There has been a sea change regarding the challenges and therefore the required elements of a company’s material control system. This has caused the firm to evolve from having a purchasing agent, typically reporting to the chief financial officer (CFO), to a more professional purchasing manager trained in high level negotiating skills, to a materials director, conversant in how all the elements of a supply chain fit together, to a global sourcing manager, and now a global supply chain director.
- Has globalization been a factor in this evolution, or are other factors at play? Why or why not?
- What added elements are now required of a material control system as a result?
- What would be the impact on large retailers in a country if a dock strike occurred for inbound shipping containers; what could they do to mitigate this risk? How does this differ from the impact of a dock strike if globalization had not been so popular?
Part 2 Demand-Based vs. Forecast-Based Planning
Primary Task Response: write 400–600 words
As a newly hired manager for a consumer products manufacturing company, your chief executive officer (CEO) has asked you to educate the senior staff on the pros and cons of establishing a demand-based ordering system, sometimes referred to as just in time, versus the more traditional forecast-based ordering system that the firm has used for years. Make sure you provide at least 2 pros and 2 cons for each of the 2 different systems.
Part 3 Purchasing and Procurement
Primary Task Responsewrite 400–600 words
The chief executive officer (CEO) of your firm is being asked to approve a major expenditure for a new warehouse. Before he approves it, you were asked to discuss with him an alternative he has heard of: public warehousing. Prepare a short discussion covering the following specific points:
- What exactly is public warehousing?
- What are the pros and cons of using it?
- What is the range of services they typically offer?
- If the objective is to avoid the cost of building and staffing a new warehouse for the firm, which of these services, or others as well, would you ask the public warehouse to perform for you? Why?
- What is the downside of using public warehousing?
