Exam 20: Purchasing and Supply Strategy Trends

Providing ongoing purchase price and cost reduction, combined with quality and delivery performance improvement, is the maximum contribution expected of purchasing and supply.

All of the following are examples of the future focus on supply chain performance except _____.

Purchasing will play a lesser role in time-based competition because of its inability to affect time-related processes and activities.

Competition is no longer between fast and agile and slow firms but between big and small firms.

External collaboration will signal a shift from cooperation to pure competition for some segments of a company's supply base.

Which of the following is one of the external forces affecting purchasing and supply management's role and required contributions to a firm's success?

The overall purpose of a purchase category strategy is to maximize value to the buyer, but not the supplier, by leveraging only internal company, and not external supplier, resources and capabilities.

Outsourcing will likely continue, although firms will be carefully examining and sometimes rebalancing their insourcing/outsourcing patterns.

Which of the following is not one of the strong soft-side skills for future supply managers?

Which of the following is not a reason why an emphasis on outsourcing will continue?

The purpose of [a] _____ is to maximize value to the buyer and supplier by leveraging both internal company and external supplier resources and capabilities.

Perhaps the most obvious area where firms are concentrating their time-reduction efforts is during new-product and process development along with achieving innovation.

The supply base will be viewed not only as tier one suppliers but also as supply networks that extend beyond the tier one suppliers.

Metrics to measure supplier innovation contribution, such as number of new-product/process innovations suggested, product innovations resulting in revenue generation, and number of new patents benefiting the buyer will be broadly implemented.

Leading sustainability efforts with suppliers and their suppliers will decrease in importance.

Cross-functional teams will continue to be important to supply management strategy.

Big data and analytics will play an increasingly important role in purchasing and supply chain management.

Which of the following is a question that companies will need to carefully establish their supply bases?

Because of information transparency, product and service innovations from suppliers will be decreasingly important to competitive success.

Big data combined with the capabilities of analytical tools combined with high talent people will further improve supply analyses and decision-making across many areas.