Assignment
Part 1
Question 1
A support process could be any of the following except
a. assembling automobiles
b. purchasing materials and supplies
c. managing inventory
d. installing a product
Question 2
Service organizations generally
a. are in close proximity to the customer
b. rely on physical inventory
c. take advantage of patents
d. can delegate human behavior and marketing skills
Question 3
In relating operations management and the customer benefit package (CBP), which is the correct timing sequence?
a. Operating system processes lead to customer needs and expectations, which lead to customer benefit package.
b. Customer benefit package leads to customer needs and expectations, which lead to operating system processes.
c. Customer needs and expectations lead to customer benefit package, which leads to operating system processes.
d. Customer needs and expectations lead to operating system processes, which lead to customer benefit package.
Question 4
A golf simulator in a retail sports store is an example of
a. non- durable goods replacing services
b. primary good
c. goods content
d. biztainment
Question 5
Which of the following is not a key activity of an operations manager?
a. translating market knowledge into goods, services, and processes
b. continually learning and adapting to global and environmental changes
c. managing cash flows and strategic investments
d. exploiting technology to improve productivity
Question 6
Service management skills would include all of the following except
a. accounting and finance
b. knowledge and technical expertise about operations
c. marketing and cross-selling
d. human interaction
Question 7
Which one of the following is not an example of biztainment?
a. iPhone applications
b. automobile leasing
c. product demonstrations
d. virtual factory tours
Question 8
The following terms -- interchangeability of parts, division of labor, highly repetitive tasks -- best relate to a focus on
a. quality
b. efficiency
c. quality
d. time
Question 9
The quality revolution is most related to
a. continuous improvement
b. mass production
c. time-based competition
d. service
Question 10
Which of the following is not a current challenge to OM?
a. globalization
b. technology
c. quality
d. mass production
Question 11
A customer benefit package (CBP) includes
a. only core offerings
b. only peripheral offerings
c. either core or peripheral offerings but not both
d. both core offerings as well as peripheral offerings
Question 12
Which is generally related to service operations?
a. tangible product
b. need for flexible capacity
c. separation of production from consumption
d. large amount of inventory
Question 13
The three issues that are at the core of operations management include all of the following except
a. cost
b. quality
c. utilization
d. efficiency
Question 14
Which of the following would be the lowest in goods content and highest in service content?
a. fast food restaurant
b. attending a theater production
c. getting an oil change for your car
d. filling a medical prescription
Question 15
Computer software would be an example of
a. an intangible good
b. a nondurable good
c. a service
d. a value creation process
Question 16
From the pre- and post-service view of a value chain, goods and services design, contract negotiation and consulting services would be considered
a. pre-production services
b. production processes
c. post-production services
d. value creation
Question 17
____ is the process of managing information, services and physical goods to insure their availability at the right place, at the right time, at the right cost and at the right quantity, with the highest attention given to quality.
a. Preproduction service
b. Value proposition
c. Operational structure
d. Value chain integration
Question 18
In the value chain model for a hospital, patients, drugs and staff would be considered
a. suppliers
b. inputs
c. processes
d. outputs
Question 19
Outsourcing is
a. the same as offshoring
b. the opposite of vertical integration
c. the opposite of backward integration
d. the same as diversifying
Question 20
The first, second, and third waves of outsourcing experienced by the U.S. are
a. goods-producing jobs, simple service work, skilled knowledge work
b. simple service work, goods-producing jobs, skilled knowledge work
c. simple service work, skilled knowledge work, goods-producing jobs
d. skilled knowledge work, simple service work, goods-producing jobs
Question 21
A competitively dominant customer experience is often called a
a. perceived benefit
b. preemptive strike
c. moment of truth
d. value proposition
Question 22
For a restaurant, order-taking, bill payment and home delivery would be considered
a. services
b. inputs
c. processes
d. outputs
Question 23
The United States has experienced three waves of outsourcing. Which of the following is not one of the waves?
a. skilled knowledge work
b. mass customization
c. simple service work
d. goods-producing jobs
Question 24
Which of the following is not a component of a value chain?
a. goods and services
b. information
c. sources of labor
d. financial transactions
Question 25
Operational structure of the value chain deals with
a. management hierarchy
b. vertical integration
c. configuration of resources
d. culture
Question 26
Which of the following is not normally considered a variable cost?
a. labor
b. transportation
c. equipment lease
d. material
Question 27
When break-even analysis is applied to an outsourcing decision, the breakeven quantity is
a. the ratio of fixed costs to the difference between variable outsourcing cost and variable in-house production cost
b. the ratio of the difference between variable outsourcing cost and variable in-house production cost to fixed costs
c. the product of the variable costs times the fixed costs
d. the product of the variable costs times the production quantity
Question 28
A company has two alternatives for meeting a customer requirement for 9,000 units of a specialty molding. If done in-house, fixed cost would be $350,000, with variable cost at $30 per unit. If outsourced, the cost is $80 per unit. Determine the breakeven point and determine if they should make the item in-house or outsource it.
a. breakeven point = 7,000 units; outsource
b. breakeven point = 7,000 units; make in-house
c. breakeven point = 11,667 units; outsource
d. breakeven point = 11,667 units; make in-house
Question 29
"The perception of the benefits associated with a good, service, or bundle of goods and services in relation to what buyers are willing to pay for them" is the definition of
a. proportionality
b. competitiveness
c. value
d. equity
Question 30
____ integration refers to acquiring capabilities at the front of the supply chain, whereas ____ integration refers to acquiring capabilities toward the back end of the supply chain.
a. Vertical, horizontal
b. Upward, downward
c. Forward, backward
d. Backward, forward
Part 2
Question 1
Of the four performance perspectives of the balanced scorecard model, which is most relevant to operations managers?
a. financial
b. customer
c. innovation and learning
d. internal
Question 2
Which of the following would be an example of an innovation and learning performance measure?
a. employee satisfaction
b. earnings per share
c. design flexibility
d. product-related litigation
Question 3
In regard to the value chain model, efficiency, cost and cycle time would be most related to
a. suppliers
b. inputs
c. value creation processes
d. outputs and outcomes
Question 4
The service-profit chain model
a. is based on a set of cause-and-effect linkages
b. is only focused on internal performance
c. was designed first for manufacturing organizations
d. is focused on equipment utilization
Question 5
Of the four models of organizational performance, which two focus on the "big picture" of organizational performance rather than on operational-level framework?
a. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Framework and the Value Chain model
b. Balanced Scorecard and the Service-Profit Chain
c. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Framework and the Balanced Scorecard
d. Value Chain model and Service-Profit Chain
Question 6
The number of patent applications and the number of improvement suggestions implemented relate best to which operational performance measure category?
a. financial
b. customer and market
c. innovation and learning
d. productivity
Question 7
Which of the following would be a typical operational-level quality performance measure?
a. customer ratings of goods and services
b. customer retention
c. service representative courtesy
d. product recalls
Question 8
Airline revenue per passenger mile and hotel revenue per full-time employee are examples of
a. reliability
b. value of loyal customer
c. sustainability
d. productivity
Question 9
Interlinking is the quantitative modeling of cause-and-effect relationships between
a. internal performance criteria
b. external performance criteria
c. internal and external performance criteria
d. competing organizations' performances
Question 10
When Bill Gates stated that "Microsoft is always two years away from failure," he was emphasizing the importance of
a. innovation and learning
b. productivity
c. design flexibility
d. speed
Question 11
Employee satisfaction and other workforce-related measures fall into which perspective in the Balanced Scorecard?
a. Financial
b. Customer
c. Innovation and Learning
d. Internal
Question 12
At a basic level, quality should be measured in three areas. Which of the following is not one of those areas?
a. goods
b. services
c. environment
d. employee
Question 13
Which category of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award examines how the organization fulfills its ethical, legal, and societal responsibilities, and supports its key communities?
a. leadership
b. Strategic Planning
c. Customer Focus
d. Results
Question 14
Of the seven categories of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria, which is least relevant to an operations manager?
a. Leadership
b. Workforce Focus
c. Customer Focus
d. Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management
Question 15
The triple bottom line (TBL or 3BL) refers to the measurement of sustainability in all of the following areas except
a. economic
b. social
c. technological
d. environmental
Question 16
With regard to the three types of customer attributes in evaluating the quality of goods and services, those associated with having a meal in a restaurant such as taste of the food and courtesy of the server would best be classified as
a. search attributes
b. experience attributes
c. credence attributes
d. reflect attributes
Question 17
A firm's ability to achieve market and financial superiority over its competitors is called
a. Operations strategy
b. Strategic planning
c. Competitive advantage
d. Competitive priority
Question 18
Requirements that are expected in a good or service are called
a. Order Qualifiers
b. Order Satisfiers
c. Order Exciters
d. Order winners
Question 19
Which of the following does not describe how customers evaluate services in a manner that differs from the way they evaluate goods?
a. Customers rely on more information from personal sources
b. Customers perceive greater risks
c. Customers cannot form a priori expectations of expected service quality
d. Dissatisfaction often results from a customer's inability to properly co-produce the service
Question 20
The ____ of a firm defines the strengths that are unique to that organization.
a. strategy development
b., strategic mission
c. vision statement
d. core competencies
Question 21
Which one of the following statements best represents McDonald's approach to global business?
a. One brand cannot be all things to all people.
b. Extensive use of outside trainers
c. Using alternative technologies to make French fries
d. Use of primarily manual information systems
Question 22
With regard to the three types of customer attributes in evaluating the quality of goods and services, those associated with the features of a new laptop computer such as processor speed and hard disk capacity would best be classified as
a. search attributes
b. experience attributes
c. credence attributes
d. reflect attributes
Question 23
Considering the work force component of infrastructure, which term does not fit with the others in a service environment?
a. Customer contact skills
b. Cross-training
c. Task-oriented
d. Empowered
Question 24
____ attributes are most likely to be experienced by the customer when using estate planning services.
a. Search attributes
b. Experience attributes
c. Credence attributes
d. Order winners
Question 25
Professor Terry Hill has presented a four-loop framework for operations strategy through an iterative and integrated process. The initial loop is
a. Operations evaluates the implications of competitive priorities in terms of process choices and infrastructure
b. Operations determines if process choice decisions and capabilities are consistent with infrastructure capabilities
c. Operations input into corporate and marketing strategy
d. Ties together corporate strategy and marketing strategy
Question 26
In time sequence, which of the following needs to be accomplished first?
a. Understand customer wants and needs
b. Design and deliver customer benefit package
c. Build and leverage operational capabilities
d. Hire creative engineers
Question 27
With regard to the three types of attributes customers use in evaluating the quality of goods and services, a vacation would best be classified as high in
a. Search attributes
b. Experience attributes
c. Credence attributes
d. Competitive advantage attributes
Question 28
Operations design choices include all of the following except
a. Operating plans and controls
b. Type of processes
c. Value chain integration and outsourcing
d. Inventory and service capacity
Question 29
Families of goods or services having similar characteristics or methods of creation are called
a. Core competencies
b. Corporate strategy
c. Strategic business units
d. Functional strategy
Question 30
In an automobile, which of the following would not be considered an order winner?
a. Self-parking capability
b. Voice-activated music system
c. Front-seat airbags
d. Collision-avoidance system
Part 3
Question 1
Which of the following would not be included in a typical Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)?
a. market segmentation and analysis
b. effective complaint resolution
c. cross-selling goods and services
d. supply chain inventory management
Question 2
According to the National Research Council, companies with computer-integrated manufacturing system experience have been able to
a. improve quality by a factor of ten
b. increase equipment utilization to 100 percent
c. decrease engineering design costs by up to 30 percent
d. reduce finished goods inventory by five percent
Question 3
____ consist of two or more computer-controlled machines or robots linked by automated handling devices such as transfer machines, conveyors and transport systems.
a. Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD/CAE)
b. Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
c. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
d. Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS)
Question 4
Regarding industrial robots, which choice is not correct?
a. ability to test manufacturing products before they physically exist
b. can be taught
c. can be used with hazardous material
d. can be used in brain surgery
Question 5
Which of the following enables engineers to design, analyze, test, simulate, and "manufacture" products before they physically exist?
a. CNC
b. CAD/CAE
c. CIM
d. CAM
Question 6
Computer integrated manufacturing systems result in all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Flexible manufacturing systems
b. Inquiry processing
c. Agile manufacturing
d. Total quality management
Question 7
Which of the following would not be an activity a return facilitator handles?
a. recommending a new supplier
b. repairing the manufactured good
c. requesting money back for a customer
d. invoking the service guarantee
Question 8
CRM helps firms gain competitive advantage by all of the following except
a. providing real-time transaction processing
b. segmenting markets
c. tracking sales trends and advertising effectiveness
d. identifying which customers should be the focus of targeted marketing initiatives
Question 9
The dot.com company WebVan focused on
a. grooming pets in customers' driveways
b. customers ordering their groceries on-line.
c. installing/repairing residential wireless networks
d. providing door-to-door medical diagnoses
Question 10
Infinite scalability is most related to
a. high variable cost
b. high fixed cost
c. high scalability
d. low scalability
Question 11
Database systems, artificial intelligence programs and voice-recognition software are examples of
a. hard technology
b. soft technology
c. computer numerical control
d. integrated operating systems
Question 12
Information technology has significantly affected health care. Which of the following is not an outcome?
a. Cost reduction
b. Revenue enhancement
c. Faster exchange of handwritten charts between physicians and nurses
d. Improved clinical efficiency and patient care
Question 13
All organizations face common issues regarding technology. Which item below does not belong on the list of issues?
a. The right technology must be selected for the goods that are produced.
b. Robots must be programmed to operate the equipment.
c. Work must be scheduled to meet shipping commitments/customer promise dates.
d. Quality must be ensured
Question 14
Filing your individual federal tax returns would best be described as what type of value chain?
a. B2B
b. C2G
c. C2C
d. G2G
Question 15
All of the following are benefits of adopting technology except
a. improve/increase productivity and quality
b. integrate supply and value chain players
c. raise world standard of living
d. easier to protect employees' and customers' privacy
Part 4
Question 1
Which of the following is not supported by Japan's Genichi Taguchi?
a. optimizing tolerances
b. goal post model
c. quadratic loss function
d. monetary expression of variation
Question 2
Which of the following steps is not the same for both goods and services?
a. detailed goods, services and process design
b. Customer Benefit Package design and configuration
c. market introduction/deployment
d. marketplace evaluation
Question 3
Which of the following is not included in a failure-mode-and-effects analysis (FMEA)?
A. Impact
B. Probability
C. Detection
D. Risk value
E. All of these are included
Question 4
In a design specification 25 ± 1.5, the value 25 is called the ____, while ± 1.5 is called the ____.
a. nominal, reliability
b. average, tolerance
c. average, nominal
d. nominal, tolerance
Question 5
A system design consisting of several parallel components that function independently of each other and where the system fails only if all the parallel components fail is an example of
a. simplification
b. redundancy
c. deployment
d. sustainability
Question 6
The process by which a model is constructed to test a good's physical properties or use under actual operating conditions is called
a. Quality Function Deployment
b. Value engineering
c. Detailed product design
d. Prototype testing
Question 7
In design specification terminology, permissible variation is called
a. normal
b. buffer
c. tolerance
d. leeway
Question 8
A bank provides four sequential services to its customers. Over the last quarter, the reliability of each of these services was 92%, 97%, 95% and 90%. What is their overall reliability?
a. 0.9700
b. 0.9350
c. 0.2370
d. 0.7630
e. 0.7230
Question 9
Which of the following is not a principal issue in service encounter design?
a. facility location
b. customer contact behavior and skills
c. service provider selection, development and empowerment
d. service recovery and guarantees
Question 10
Objectives of service guarantees include all of the following except
a. increasing brand image
b. reducing customer risk
c. forcing operational improvement
d. allowing reduced pricing
Question 11
Which of the following is not one of the six customer attributes that impact the design and configuration of a customer benefit package?
a. time
b. Information
c. exchange
d. reliability
Question 12
Prior to designing and configuring a customer benefit package, a firm should understand and develop its ____.
a. detailed goods, services and process design
b. process and service encounter design
c. strategic mission and competitive priorities
d. marketplace evaluation
Question 13
Which of the following is not a principal dimension of a servicescape?
a. spatial layout and functionality
b. signs, symbols and artifacts
c. facility location
d. ambient conditions
Question 14
A(n) ____ is a promise to reward and compensate a customer if a service upset occurs.
a. service guarantee
b. customer contact requirement
c. service recovery
d. empowerment
Question 15
Which of the following is not a principal dimension of the servicescape?
a. Ambient condition
b. Process and job design
c. Spatial layout and functionality
d. Signs, symbols and artifacts
Question 16
A process map (flowchart)
a. Is boundary-less
b. Does not include information flow
c. Is often used as a baseline to describe how a process is performed
d. Must include a line of customer visibility
Question 17
A manufacturing firm that produces a standardized product, not made of discrete parts, with little-to-no customization, with high demand, is most likely to use this type of process.
a. project
b. job shop
c. flow shop
d. continuous flow
Question 18
Which one of the following best describes reengineering?
a. Radical redesign
b. Incremental, continuous improvement
c. Engineering-based value analysis
d. Repeatability
Question 19
What type of process would a paper mill most likely use?
a. Project
b. Job shop
c. Flow shop process
d. Continuous flow process
Question 20
Ships, weddings and estate planning are examples of ____ goods and services
a. Make-to-order
b. Assemble-to-order
c. Make-to-stock
d. Continuous flow
Question 21
The terms, "general purpose equipment," "flexible and capable of customizing work" and "wide variety of goods or services" best relate to
a. Projects
b. Job shops
c. Flow shop processes
d. Continuous flow processes
Question 22
____ offer customers broad freedom to select the pathways that are best suited for their immediate needs and wants from many possible pathways through the service delivery system.
a. Provider-routed pathways
b. Customer-routed pathways
c. Highly repeatable service encounter activity sequences
d. ATMs
Question 23
During which phase of a product's life cycle does low unit cost become a top competitive priority?
a. Priority
b. Growth
c. Maturity
d. Decline
Question 24
A(n) ____ is a group of ____ needed to create and deliver an intermediate or final output.
a. Process; value chains
b. Activity; tasks
c. Task; activities
d. Activity; processes
Question 25
Using the Service Positioning Matrix, a limited number of customer pathways and highly repeatable service encounter activity sequences would best relate to
a. Being below the diagonal
b. Continuous flow
c. Customer routed
d. Provider routed
Question 26
The work activity that effectively limits throughput of a process is called a ____.
a. Process boundary
b. Make-to-order
c. Bottleneck
d. Throughput
Question 27
Which of the following is not a major activity in designing a goods-producing or service-providing process?
a. Define the purpose and objectives of the process.
b. Create a detailed process or value stream map that baselines current performance.
c. Use the product life cycle for each good or service to create a future state process map.
d. Select the appropriate equipment and technology
Question 28
The average number of entities completed per unit time -- the output rate -- from a process is called ____.
a. Utilization
b. Throughput
c. Service rate
d. Work-in-process
Question 29
Marketing Product Characteristics/Decisions for the Product-Process Matrix include all the following except
a. Demand volume
b. Degree of customization
c. Pathways
d. Type of good
Question 30
Which is the correct order of hierarchy?
A. Activity, task, process, value chain
B. Value chain, process, task, activity
C. Process, value chain, activity, task
D. Value chain, process, activity, task
Part 5
Question 1
The determination of specific job tasks and responsibilities is called ____.
a. Job design
b. Ergonomics
c. Job enlargement
d. Job enrichment
Question 2
A ____ layout consists of a functional grouping of equipment or activities that do similar work.
a. Product
b. Process
c. Cellular
d. Fixed position
Question 3
Which of the following is not a common approach for designing process layouts?
a. CRAFT
b. ALDEP
c. NIOSH
d. CORELAP
Question 4
Which type of layout is best for high volumes of demand with few if any setups/changeovers?
a. Product
b. Process
c. Cellular
d. Fixed position
Question 5
A(n) ____ performs entire jobs rather than specialized, assembly line work.
a. Virtual team
b. Self-managed team
c. Natural work team
d. Ergonomic team
Question 6
For a given cycle time in line balancing, assembly-line efficiency can be increased by
a. Speeding the line
b. Slowing the line
c. Decreasing the number of work stations
d. Increasing the number of work stations
Question 7
Assembly line balancing
a. Is a one-time activity.
b. Tries to minimize the production rate for a given number of work stations.
c. Tries to minimize the number of work stations for a given production rate.
d. Attempts to load work into early work stations.
Question 8
Which one of the following fits best with process layout?
a. Skilled workers
b. Standardization
c. Specialized equipment
d. Little work-in-process inventories
Question 9
All of the following are common objectives of layout studies except
a. Minimize delays in materials handling and customer movement
b. Minimize the number of workstations
c. Provide for good housekeeping and maintenance
d. Maintain flexibility
Question 10
____ is vertical expansion of job duties to give the worker more responsibility.
a. Job enlargement
b. Job rotation
c. Job enrichment
d. Job design
Question 11
The production of large goods such as airplanes is best accomplished using a ____ layout.
a. product
b. process
c. Cellular
d. Fixed position
Question 12
An assembly line with 28 activities is to be balanced. The total amount of time required for all 28 activities is 39 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per day. What must the cycle time be to achieve an output rate of 400 units/day?
a. 1.39 minutes
b. 11.54 minutes
c. 1.125 minutes
d. 0.89 minutes
Question 13
____ set their own goals and inspect their own work, often hire their own replacements and prepare their own budgets.
a. Virtual teams
b. Enlarged teams
c. Socio-technical teams
d. Self-managed teams
Question 14
The typical layout of facilities in a hospital would be an example of a ____ layout.
a. product
b. process
c. Cellular
d. Fixed position
Question 15
A ____ layout is an arrangement based on the sequence of operations that are performed during the manufacturing of a good or the delivery of a service.
a. product
b. process
c. Cellular
d. Fixed position
Question 16
Factors such as managers' preferences, services and taxes, available transportation systems, banking services and environmental impacts would be most closely related to which level of the facility location hierarchy?
a. Global (National) location
b. Regional location
c. District or community location
d. Local site selection
Question 17
The weights typically used in the center-of-gravity method are
a. Transportation costs
b. Distances
c. Volumes of goods
d. Times
Question 18
The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model function that entails procuring goods and services to meet planned or actual demand is called ____.
a. Plan
b. Source
c. Make
d. Deliver
Question 19
The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model function that entails all order management activities from processing customer orders to routing shipments, managing goods at distribution centers and invoicing the customer is called ____.
a. Return
b. Source
c. Make
d. Deliver
Question 20
Which of the following is not a basic function of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model?
a. source
b. make
c. deliver
d. control
Question 21
The metric "perfect order fulfillment" is often used to measure ____.
a. Delivery reliability
b. Responsiveness
c. Supply chain efficiency
d. Supply chain financial performance
Question 22
Which one of the following is not directly related to a supply chain?
a. Distribution center
b. Inventory
c. Promotion/Advertising
d. Supplier
Question 23
A(n) ____ seeks to balance capacity and demand, might use only a few large distribution centers, and minimize costs of routing products from factories to retail stores and customers.
a. Responsive supply chain
b. Efficient supply chain
c. Push system
d. Pull system
Question 24
A firm that specializes in certain types of goods-producing activities, such as customized design, manufacturing, assembly, and packaging, and works for end users is called a ____.
a. Responsive supply chain
b. Contract manufacturer
c. Distribution center
d. Vendor-managed inventory supplier
Question 25
A contract manufacturer can offer significant competitive advantages. Which one of the following is not an advantage of using a contract manufacturer?
a. Access to advanced manufacturing technologies
b. Faster product time-to-market
c. Lower costs from economies of scale
d. Standardized design
Question 26
A push system
a. can adjust easily to poor forecasts
b. is more appropriate for make-to-order items
c. can reduce transportation costs by using full-truckload shipments
d. works best with variable sales patterns
Question 27
The point in the supply chain that separates the push system from the pull system is called the
a. Reversal point
b. Push-pull boundary
c. Postponement site
d. Center of gravity
Question 28
The center-of-gravity method takes all the following into account except
a. Location of facilities and markets
b. Demand
c. Transportation costs
d. Service objectives
Question 29
Managing the flow of goods and materials from the customer backward through the supply chain is called
a. Reverse Logistics
b. The Pull System
c. The Push System
d. Response Management
Question 30
____ is the process of delaying product customization until the product is closer to the customer at the end of a supply chain.
a. Postponement
b. Sourcing
c. Deferral
d. Multisite management.