Which of the following is the PRIMARY benefit of supply base rationalization?
According to the Law of Agency, a supply manager acting as an agent makes decisions and acts in whose interest(s)?
During a business downturn, a supply manager for RST, Inc. learns that its key supplier is becoming concerned about the firm's unpaid invoices. In this situation, the BEST course of action for the supply manager to take would be to
DEF, Inc. is a small manufacturing firm. DEF enters into a three-year contract for raw materials, with payment terms of net 30. On one of the initial deliveries, a mistake by DEF results in failure to pay for three months. In return, the supplier puts DEF on credit hold. As the materials are critical to manufacturing operations, DEF pre-pays for future orders.
After several months of pre-payments, the firm issues an order with payment net 30, but the supplier refuses to ship goods under these terms. DEF's supply manager believes the firm has made a good-faith effort to address the supplier's concerns, and now wants to enforce the original contract terms. Which of the following is the BEST way for the supply manager to resolve this situation?
A supply manager for PQR, Inc. is negotiating a contract to purchase software. The software will streamline PQR's online purchasing process with a one-click buy function. The supply manager wants to ensure PQR's performance expectations are met and that the consequences of failure to perform are properly captured. In this situation, which of the following is MOST important for the supply manager to include in the contract?
A machine that costs $200,000 is expected to realize an annual savings of $35,000. What is the simple ROI for this piece of equipment?
A supply management office for a county government has been authorized to select a contractor to design, build and operate a new bridge. In the past, the county has experienced four major problems when hiring contractors:
1)Contractors dropping out of the bidding process due to lack of resources or ability to perform the scope of the work
2)A limited number of competitive bids that are able to achieve the value supply management desires
3)Underperformance of contractors after the award
4)The perception that the contractors are not operating effectively
In order to prevent these problems, which of the following should supply management do FIRST?
A firm currently pays $14 per unit for a part used in manufacturing. In an effort to lower costs, the firm invites potential suppliers to participate in an online auction. Suppliers complete a pre-qualification phase before the auction begins. The auction starts with an opening bid of $9 per unit. The auction lasts four hours and no suppliers submit bids. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for the lack of participation in this auction?
After working for several years at ABC, Inc.—a large manufacturing company—Smith moves to a senior position at XYZ, a smaller firm which is part of ABC's family of companies. In an effort to lower costs, Smith begins negotiations with a supplier that sells to both ABC and XYZ. While at ABC, Smith was able to negotiate very favorable contracts for parts and services. However, Smith is unable to obtain as favorable terms for XYZ with the same supplier.
To improve XYZ's position, which of the following is the BEST course of action for Smith to take?
The chief executive officer (CEO) of a candy company directs the firm to source, produce and market a line of organic clothing. The firm's internal stakeholders are not in agreement with the CEO. In this situation, which of the following courses of action should supply management take?
