Understanding the Supply Chain Sunil Chopra

CHAPTER ONE Discussion Questions 1. Consider the purchase of a can of soda at a convenience store. Describe the sundry(a) stages in the leave bowed stringed instrument and the different commingles relate. When a node purchases a can of soda at a convenience store, his purchase represents the curiosity of a provision chemical images delivery of an item and the jump of selective information regarding his purchase flowing in the opposite direction. The bring home the bacon chain stages include customers, retailers, wholesalers/distributors, manufacturers, and component/raw worldly suppliers. A customers purchase moves product towards the customer and dollars and information towards the retailer.The retailer places an dress from the wholesaler/distributor to replenish stock, thereby moving information back up the grant chain while moving product raven the add on chain. As the order is picked, the retailer will move dollars back up the supply chain. The wholesaler/distr ibutor transmits information and dollars to the manufacturer who produces product and ships it down the supply chain to the wholesaler. Finally (or initially, depending on your perspective) the manufacturer moves orders (information) and dollars towards suppliers in commutation for material flow into their mathematical product fulfiles. 2.Why should a household like dingle take into account total supply chain profit major power when making decisions? Dell realizes that their ultimate winner lies with the success of their supply chain and its ability to generate supply chain surplus. If Dell was to view supply chain operations as a zero sum game, they would lose their private-enterprise(a) edge as their suppliers businesses struggled. Dells profit gained at the outgo of their supply chain partners would be short lived. Just as a physical chain is only as strong as its weakest link, the supply chain can be successful only if all members uphold and focus on a lobal optimum rath er than many topical anesthetic optima. 3. What argon some strategic provision and operational decisions that must be made by an apparel retailer like The Gap? As The Gap plans supply chain strategy it must first number the marketing functions pricing plans in order to organise a supply chain consistent with these plans. Strategic considerations such as the capacity of each supplier and assembly operations, sourcing decisions and how logistics are to be handled are all part of the design. The supply chain must also decrease on communication channels and frequencies. lend chain planning takes the strategic decisions as a given and seeks to exploit efficiencies in the chain to maximize supply chain surplus. The entire chain should collaborate in forecasting and planning production to achieve a global optimum. The forecasts should take into account aforethought(ip) promotions and known seasonal fluctuations in demand. The operational decision takes the plans as a given and makes day-to-day decisions to process customer orders, allocate resources to certain customers, institution orders from supply chain members, and deliver product. 4. Consider the supply chain snarled when a customer purchases a book at a bookstore.Identify cycles in this supply chain and the location of the thrust/ go out margin. All supply chain processes can be broken down into four process cycles that connect the five stages of the supply chain the customer order cycle, the transposition cycle, the manufacturing cycle, and the procurement cycle. The customer order cycle connects the customer with the retailer this inter-group communication is made as the book, perhaps Supply Chain Management by Chopra and Meindl, is selected and paid for by the customer. The replenishment cycle connects the retailer and the distributor and is triggered by the retailers need to fill the empty shelf lacuna with nother copy of this tome. The manufacturing cycle connects the distributor and the manu facturer. As demand for the book is realise and distributors empty their warehouses, they signal the manufacturer to print another million copies to fill their empty warehouses. Finally, the procurement cycle connects the manufacturer and the supplier. The manufacturer requires raw material inputs of paper, ink, etc. , to begin the assembly process for another batch of Supply Chain Management. The push/ cast boundary exists where demand switches from reactive ( device) to tough (push) production.For most bookstore supply chains the push/pull boundary is between the customer order cycle and the replenishment cycle. The customer order pulls the book from the book store shelf but the initial production of the book was triggered by a build order that moved materials along the supply chain to the retail outlet. 5. 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. In Amazons o riginal operations design the push/pull boundary existed betwixt the retailer (Amazon) and their distributor.Amazon ordered product from the distributor and the customer order arrived. Today, Amazon has six warehouses where it stocks an inventory of items it is confident that will sell. In this scenario, the push/pull boundary exists between the customer and the retailer. Processes in the pull phase are the order fulfillment, shipping, customer returns, and customer billing. Processes in the push phase are production, stock replenishments, shipping, and payment. 6. In what way do supply chain flows affect the success or failure of a firm like Amazon?List two supply chain decisions that moderate a significant impact on supply chain profitability. The success or failure of a company like Amazon is indomitable by the effective function of its supply chain. The flow of products from publishers to distributors to customers must be rapid and reliable in order to satisfy customers. The f low of information back through the supply chain allows all members to coordinate efforts. The flow of money allows all supply chain members to maintain operations. Supply chain profitability is influenced by sourcing, promotion, and fulfillment decisions.