AIMS 3770 – Dr. Leon
Spring 2013
Reading Assignment #3 – Supply Chain Management

Text Reading:
o Chapter 11, pp.418-431
o Articles posted in MyLMUConnect
* Study Guide Questions:
1. In Table 11.1, the three operations management strategies identified are
a.
b.
c.
2. For each strategy in Table 11.1, what should the supplier’s goal and primary
selection criteria be?
a.
b.
c.
3. For each strategy in Table 11.1, what are the lead-time and inventory
characteristics that the supply chain decisions support?
a.
b.
c.
4. Based on your analysis of Table 11.1, which strategy do you think applies to
Apple, Inc.? Why do you believe this to be the case?
5. Read the New York Times article “In China, Human Costs Built into iPad” posted
in MyLMUConnect. Based on statements made in this article, what appears to be
Apple’s main selection criteria for its suppliers? How do these criteria tie into the
strategy you identified in question 4?
6. Page 423 of your text mentions ethics within the supply chain. Is Apple doing a
good job of establishing standards for its suppliers? What do you think Apple
should do differently? How will your suggestion impact Apple’s operations
strategy?
7. Read the OM in Action titled “A Rose is a Rose”. Describe two challenges that
supply chains for roses face:
a.
b.
8. List the three categories of supply chain risk. For each one, provide an example
of a company who encountered problems as a result of a disruption in the
category or who developed a strategy to reduce the risk of a potential disruption in
the category:
a.
b.
c.
9. What is the “many-supplier” strategy? Why would a company want to implement
this strategy?
10. List three advantages of implementing a strategy of few suppliers:
a.
b.
c.
11. List two disadvantages to the few supplier strategy:
a.
b.
12. Describe a vertical integration strategy:
13. Describe three issues that can result in a supply chain not operating as efficiently
as it should because it can create a Bullwhip effect. (Issues in an Integrated
Supply Chain on pg. 428 in text)
a.
b.
c.
14. Describe what each of the following opportunities in an integrated supply chain
(starting on page 429) does and how it helps reduce the uncertainty in the supply
chain and therefore improve the potential performance of the overall chain:
a. Point of sale systems and accurate pull data
b. Lot size reduction
c. Single stage control of replenishment and radio frequency identification
tags
d. Vendor-managed inventories
e. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment
f. Blanket orders
g. Standardization
h. Postponement
i. Drop shipping
15. The Straight to the Source article on MyLMUConnect describes supply chain
benefits and challenges associated with new e-commerce companies today. What
cycle is removed with these upstarts? Describe how these companies are using
drop-shipping to their competitive advantage. Identify two benefits/advantages
that these start-ups have compared to traditional supply chains. Why is it easier
for these start-ups to be more successful today than it was 10 years ago? What is
the main challenge that these start-ups face?
16. The Amazon Keeps You Clicking article on MyLMUConnect describes how
Amazon has designed their supply chain processes to provide outstanding
customer service. Describe some of the supplier/partner strategies Amazon
implements to improve its supply chain performance.