MBA课件供应链管理学员问题探讨与案例分析(.doc

生命是永恒不断的创造，因为在它内部蕴含着过剩的精力，它不断流溢，越出时间和空间的界限，它不停地追求，以形形色色的自我表现的形式表现出来。泰戈尔中国经济管理大学MBA课件供应链管理学员问题探讨与案例分析（苏尼尔乔普拉著教材）CHAPTER ONE Discussion Questions1 Consider the purchase of a can of soda at a convenience store. Describe the various stages in the supply chain and the different flows involved.When a customer purchases a can of soda at a convenience store, his purchase represents the end of a supply chains delivery of an item and the beginning of information regarding his purchase flowing in the opposite direction.The supply chain stages include customers, retailers, wholesalers/distributors, manufacturers, and component/raw material suppliers. A customers purchase moves product towards the customer and dollars and information towards the retailer.The retailer places an order from the wholesaler/distributor to replenish stock, thereby moving information back up the supply chain while moving product down the supply chain. As the order is filled, the retailer will move dollars back up the supply chain.The wholesaler/distributor 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 exchange for material flow into their production processes.2 Why should a firm like Dell take into account total supply chain profitability when making decisions?Dell realizes that their ultimate success 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 competitive edge as their suppliers businesses struggled. Dells profit gained at the expense 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 cooperate and focus on a global optimum rather than many local optima.3 What are some strategic planning and operational decisions that must be made by an apparel retailer like The Gap?As The Gap plans supply chain strategy it must first consider the marketing functions pricing plans in order to structure a supply chain consonant 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 settle on communication channels and frequencies. Supply 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 as to achieve a global optimum. The forecasts should take into account planned promotions and known seasonal fluctuations in demand.The operational decision take the plans as a given and make day-to-day decisions to process customer orders, allocate resources to certain customers, trigger orders from supply chain members, and deliver product.4 Consider the supply chain involved when a customer purchases a book at a bookstore. Identify cycles in this supply chain and the location of the push/pull boundary.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 replenishment cycle, the manufacturing cycle, and the procurement cycle.The customer order cycle connects the customer with the retailer; this connection 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 space with another copy of this tome.The manufacturing cycle connects the distributor and the manufacturer. As demand for the book is realized 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/pull boundary exists where demand switches from reactive (pull) to speculative (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 original 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 have a significant impact on supply chain profitability.The success or failure of a company like Amazon is decided 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 flow 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.CHAPTER TWODiscussion Questions1. How would you characterize the competitive strategy of a high-end department store chain such as Nordstrom? What are the key customer needs that Nordstrom aims to fill?The Nordstrom web site states the following. Over the years, the Nordstrom family of employees built a thriving business on the principles of quality, value, selection, and service. Today, Nordstrom is one of the nations leading fashion retailers, offering a wide variety of high-quality apparel, shoes, and accessories for men, women, and children at stores across the country. We remain committed to the simple idea our company was founded on, earning the trust of our customers one at a time.Nordstrom fills customer needs for high quality fashion merchandise and outstanding levels of customer service. Price is no object for the typical Nordstrom shopper.2. Where would you place the demand faced by Nordstrom on the implied demand uncertainty spectrum? Why?Implied demand uncertainty is demand uncertainty due to the portion of demand that the supply chain is targeting, not the entire demand. A high-end department store chain such as Nordstrom falls on the high end of the implied demand uncertainty scale. The fashion items that Nordstrom stocks have extremely high product margin, high forecast errors and stockout rates, and once the season is over, these items are sold at deep discounts at their Nordstrom Rack outlet stores.3. What level of responsiveness would be most appropriate for Nordstroms supply chain? What should the supply chain be able to do particularly well?Supply chain responsiveness takes many forms, including the ability to respond to a wide range of quantities, meet short lead times, handle a large variety of products, build innovative products, meet a high service level, and handle supply uncertainty. The Nordstrom supply chain must be highly responsive in the areas of handling highly innovative fashion products, customer response, and service level; they are effective in supplying well-heeled customers with merchandise and their return policy is legendary in the Pacific Northwest.4. How can Nordstrom expand the scope of the strategic fit across the supply chain?Scope of strategic fit refers to the functions within the firm and stages across the supply chain that devise an integrated strategy with a shared objective. By adopting an intercompany interfunctional scope strategy, Nordstrom will maximize supply chain surplus. Nordstrom can move in this direction by working with their suppliers as if they are actually owned by Nordstrom. Rather than viewing the supply chain as a zero-sum game of inventory cost minimization and profit maximization, Nordstrom must recognize that spreading the wealth and occasionally taking on more inventory than is optimal for them will result in improved customer service. The intercompany interfunctional scope of strategic fit requires more effort than the other approaches presented in this section; Nordstrom must evaluate all aspects of their supply web.5. Reconsider the previous four questions for other companies such as Amazon, a supermarket chain, and auto manufacturer, and a discount retailer such as Wal-Mart.Amazon focuses on cost and flexibility by providing books, music and a host of other household products at low prices. Customers place orders online and expect to receive purchases in a number of days. Customer orders are processed at central warehouses or are drop shipped from suppliers by mail or common carrier. For the most part, the implied demand uncertainty for Amazon is low as they cast such a wide net. Amazons supply chain must be responsive in terms of flexibility; they handle an incredibly diverse range of products. Amazons supply chain should be able to provide low prices wide variety and reasonable delivery schedules for its customers. In every link of the supply chain, Amazon must function on the cost-responsiveness efficient frontier in order to support its competitive strategy.A supermarket chain focuses on cost and quality, with some specialty chains adding flexibility by carrying a broader range of products that may be targeted towards customers interested in organic products or ethnic cuisine. Implied demand uncertainty for a supermarket chain tends to be low; shoppers are typically repeat customers and have a constant demand level. The supermarket supply chain must be responsive by receiving produce quickly to ensure freshness and have a high service level. Supermarket supply chains tend to be well-established and can improve strategic fit by emphasizing speed to maintain freshness, hence perceived quality.Auto manufacturers have extremely complicated supply chains that are increasingly focused on flexibility and lean operations. Implied demand uncertainty for auto manufacturers varies considerably by target market and manufacturer. Automotive supply chains among the big three in the United States have made great progress in the last decade and recognize that they must be responsive from a time and flexibility standpoint. Wal-Marts supply chain is obsessed with cost and is facilitated by a low implied demand uncertainty, their impressive logistics system and their management information systems. Their supply chain is able to respond quickly to fill a wide variety of products to keep merchandise on Wal-Marts shelves. Wal-Marts level of coordination along the supply chain is excellent; it would be difficult to point out areas where true intercompany interfunctional scope of strategic fit has not been achieved. The sole supply chain criticism that surfaces is an occasional report that suppliers feel as if supply chain surplus is not shared equitably.6. Give arguments to support the statement that Wal-Mart has achieved very good strategic fit between its competitive and supply chain strategies.The best argument to support the statement that Wal-Mart has achieved very good strategic fit is their success as a company. Competition today is supply chain versus supply chain, not company versus company, so a companys partners in the supply chain often determine the companys success. Wal-Marts strategic focus on cost is evident in their competitive, product development, supply chain, and marketing strategy. Their marketing strategy of advertising every day low prices appeals to consumers and does not disrupt the supply chain by causing surges in demand. Visiting one of their big box stores reveals low-priced merchandise, both national and store brands, stacked from floor to ceiling without elaborate displays or decoration. Wal-Marts logistics and information systems are famous for coordinating their entire supply chain and allowing it to meet customer needs at minimal cost.CHAPTER THREEDiscussion Questions1. How could a grocery store use inventory to increase the responsiveness of the companys supply chain?The logistical driver of inventory encompasses all raw materials, work in process, and finished goods within a supply chain. A grocery store can be more responsive in the eyes of its customers if it offers a broader variety of SKUs and/or maintains a greater quantity of each SKU. A greater quantity of each SKU is problematic for highly perishable items like produce, meat, fish, etc. For these items, a grocery store supply chain should be set up to permit frequent orders so that freshness is ensured and a stockout situation wont exist for a significant length of time. A grocery store supply chain should use historical demand patterns for seasonal items to relieve stress on all members and provide customers with product during peak demand periods.2. How could an auto manufacturer use transportation to increase the efficiency of its supply chain?Transportation, a logistical driver, entails moving inventory from point to point in the supply chain. The trade-off in transportation is between the cost of transportation and the speed at which product is transported. Slower modes of transportation reduce cost, but could be a reasonable approach if suppliers are co-located with the assembly operations. If the supply chain is designed in such a way, and assembly operations are located with proximity to markets, then the supply chain can be run cheaply without holding too much inventory in transit.3. How could a bicycle manufacturer increase responsiveness through its facilities?Facilities, another logistical driver, are the actual physical locations in the supply chain network where product is stored, assembled, or fabricated. A facility that is designed to be flexible can respond quickly to market demands by retooling to produce different models or products, whereas a dedicated facility cannot. Locating a facility close to the market will increase responsiveness at the cost of decreased economies of scale that might be achieved with a centralized location. A facility that is under capacity will be less responsive than a facility that is appropriately sized or has excess capacity.4. How could an industrial supplies distributor use information to increase its responsiveness?Information is a cross-functional driver and consists of data and analysis concerning facilities, inventory, transportation, costs, prices, and customers throughout the supply chain. Information serves as a connection among all members of the supply chain and operates within each member to facilitate internal operations. Accurate information can improve responsiveness by helping an industrial supplier better match supply and demand. Information that is gathered farther down the supply chain can be transmitted instantaneously and accurately to the supplies distributor. Instead of waiting for a human to call or FAX an order, the distributor can replenish inventory to the necessary levels or provide what is needed to fill the order as it is realized.5. Motorola has gone from manufacturing all its cell phones in-house to almost completely outsourcing the manufacturing. What are the pros and cons of the two approaches?Sourcing is the set of business processes required to purchase foods and services. These decisions are crucial because they affect the level of efficiency and responsiveness that Motorola can achieve. The Motorola production system for their line of pagers was hailed as a breakthrough in mass customization, so it was somewhat surprising when Motorola outsourced cell phones. Sourcing decisions should be made based on the total supply chain surplus; if a third party can help the chain achieve greater surplus, then the function is a prime candidate for outsourcing. Motorola was willing to give up some control and possibly some of its design talent and assembly expertise because it felt that the supplier could provide product of an appropriate level of quality with the responsiveness necessary. Products and services that are outsourced are rarely brought back in-house and should never be tied too closely to the outsourcing partys core competency.6. How can a home delivery company like Peapod use pricing of its delivery services to improve its profitability?Pricing is the process by which a firm decides how much to charge customers for its goods and services. Pricing affects the customer segments that choose to buy the product as well as the customers expectations. Peapod can use everyday low pricing of its products to ensure stability in the supply chain, but can influence demand by varying the delivery charges. For example, by establishing a minimum order amount of $50 and charging $10 to deliver an order under $75, Peapod provides an incentive for a customer to pile on additio