1. The purpose of supply chain management is to synchronize a firms processes with those of its suppliers and customers.
2. Supply chain management tries to match the flow of materials, services and information with demand.
3. The purpose of supply chain design is to shape a firms supply chain to meet the competitive priorities of its operations strategies.
4. Supply chain design for a service provider is driven primarily by the need to control the materials it consumes as it delivers its various services.
5. The fundamental purpose of supply chain design for a manufacturer is to control inventories by managing the flow of materials.
6. While it is important to manufacturing firms, little can be done to improve supply chain strategy in most service organizations.
7. The finished goods of one firm may actually be the raw materials for another firm.
8. The primary reason for keeping inventories low is that inventory represents a temporary monetary investment in goods on which a firm must pay interest.
9. One component of the holding cost of inventory is interest.
10. One component of the ordering cost of inventory is shrinkage