Which of the following BEST describes a single source supply strategy?

The supply manager for TUV Inc. is planning for negotiations with a supplier of software critical to TUV's order processing system. The supplier informs the supply manager that support for this software will soon be dropped. Upgrading to a newer version will be cost prohibitive for TUV. Given this situation, which of the following is the BEST course of action for TUV's supply manager to take prior to negotiations?

Which of the following is the FIRST step in the category management process?

XYZ Inc. is a chemical manufacturing company. XYZ requires high levels of consistency and precision from certain suppliers in their machining work. In order to drive continuous improvement with these suppliers, XYZ should develop KPIs to track performance in which of the following areas?

Which of the following is MOST important to address in an exit plan when an organization Is transitioning to a new supplier?

In preparation for an upgrade to several of its business processes, a firm needs to provide training for key staff members. The firm's supply manager wants to be sure any solicitation for services uses up-to-date specifications and will attract good potential sources. Which of the following should be the FIRST step in accomplishing this?

For the past two years, XYZ Company has issued Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for event registration mobile apps to be used for the firm's annual conference. In both instances, XYZ ended up using an app developed in-house. While the internally-developed app has met XYZ's requirements, the company believes it may be outdated in comparison with those provided by the suppliers that have submitted responses in the past. XYZ issues a new RFP to assess the suppliers' current capabilities. Responses are requested within four weeks from the date of the RFP.

Which of the following is the GREATEST risk that XYZ may encounter with this strategy?

A supply manager Is leading a team in developing a strategic sourcing strategy for the company's corporate-wide desktop and laptop computer procurement. Several business unit managers get into a heated debate over the relative Importance and exposure of desktop computers for their specific business units. Some units consider the desktop computer to be a low risk/low value commodity, while others consider them to be high risk/high value critical items. How should the supply manager proceed?

Which of the following refers to a stakeholder want as opposed to a stakeholder need?

A supply manager Issues a Request for Information (RFI) for a customer tech support center. Limited competition exists among domestic suppliers, and the supply manager needs to obtain favorable pricing to reduce current costs. Given this situation, which of the following Is the BEST course of action for the supply manager to take?

A supply manager holds a competitive, sealed bid for a piece of capital equipment. The equipment is of critical importance to the company's operations. The potential bidders include local, national, and international suppliers, as the company wants to receive as many bids as possible.

After the bid closing date, but before bid opening, a bidder contacts the supply manager and states that it made an error in its delivery time. The supplier asks if it can submit a corrected bid prior to opening. Which of the following is the BEST action for the supply manager to take?

A company recognizes a need for new and improved product offerings but does not have the necessary personnel or resources to accomplish this task. Which of the following is the MOST effective way for the firm to approach this problem?

A supply management department is asked to obtain lower prices from suppliers. Through its efforts, the department manages to achieve a 5% reduction in indirect spend categories. However, some stakeholders request more items, keeping total expenditures about the same despite lower per-item costs.

Which of the following will be the BEST long-term approach for supply management to improve upon this situation?

To weigh the benefits and risks of outsourcing a function, a supply manager conducts due diligence from cost, cultural, and service perspectives. The skills the supply manager is employing can BEST be described as

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 is leading a negotiation team. This team will negotiate with several finalists supplying complex services. Prior to the negotiations, the supply manager briefs the team on strategies, roles and responsibilities. The team members seem to understand the importance of these factors, but shortly after the negotiations commence, several members begin to make mistakes such as arguing witF each other and failing to pay attention. Which of the following is the BEST course of action for the supply manager to take at this point?

A supply manager concludes that the best source for a critical component is a manufacturer located in an overseas country. The supplier's pricing and reputation are excellent, but it is in an area that Is politically and economically unstable. The supply manager has no experience in this country, but needs to build a relationship with the supplier. Given this situation, which of the following will be MOST helpful in the long-term?

XYZ, Inc. currently has a transactional relationship with suppliers, but would like to work strategically with them. The firm wants to initially focus attention on the most critical suppliers. To do this, they should FIRST reach out to

Rebates are considered part of which of the following types of cost management?

DEF, Inc. is a multinational oil company expanding into a new geographic region. The firm's policy is to purchase locally for its operations whenever possible. Thus, DEF needs to find sources of materials, basic equipment, and standard bulk items within the new region. Given this situation, which of the following is the BEST way for DEF to proceed?

A company has recently moved to outsourcing and low-cost country sourcing for two key product lines, and the supply manager has seen some of the cost savings erode as the supply chain and related distances increase. However, the supply manager is certain that by working with the new supply base, many of the savings previously earned could be regained, especially since raw material lead times have actually decreased in the marketplace, and cycle time in most offshore assembly plants has been reduced by 35%. Which of the following should be employed?

DEF Inc. receives several batches of inferior quality products from a supplier. Although all of the samples provided by this supplier met or exceeded specifications, it is learned that the facility used to produce the samples is in a different location than the regular production facility, and that the production environment could affect quality.

DEF could have prevented this situation by doing which of the following?

A supply manager conducts a two-step bidding process for production material. A supplier is selected and a contract is signed. During the post-contract debriefing session, another supplier offers a lower price and payment terms that are more advantageous to the buying organization. Should the supply manager accept the supplier's offer?

Of the following, the BEST way for supply management to effectively support stakeholders is to ensure that

A business unit conducts discussions with key management members that Include category overviews, contracting executive summaries, local content spending plans, sourcing timelines, and cost management/value creation. These presentations can BEST be described as which of the following?

An aerospace company has a long-standing partnering relationship with a supplier to develop a new technology. This technology gives the buying organization a competitive advantage. Which of the following BEST describes this type of supplier?

Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason an organization's executive team and internal stakeholders should be aligned on the definitions of cost savings reporting?

A local utility's supply manager is preparing a solicitation to select a contractor to construct a controlling station for the utility's main plant. Construction must begin within four months and be completed in a year or less, as delays in bringing the new station online could cause serious losses for the utility. Which of the following will be MOST effective in monitoring performance and ensuring timely completion?

Which of the following is the MOST important reason for supply management to share company business plans with current and prospective suppliers?

A supply manager for an electronics firm has been asked to source packaging for the company's new printed circuit board. The specifications recommend 0.50 mm tolerance, with a projected breakage ratio of 0.50% at a cost of $1.00 each. However, the manager is able to find an alternative source of packaging that is specified at 0.60 mm tolerance, with a projected breakage ratio of 0.75% at $0.80 ea.

If the cost of the new circuit board is $50 per unit, which packaging should the supply manager recommend, and why?

DEF Company receives several proposals for the manufacture of a sub-assembly used in an important product line. All of the responding suppliers indicate they plan to subcontract part of the work in order to meet high seasonal demand. Most of the proposed subcontractors are located in low-cost offshore locations. The supply manager is concerned that the subcontractors may not adhere to DEF's standards for fair labor practices. Which of the following is the BEST way of ensuring that the suppliers' subcontractors maintain fair labor practices?

Supplier X is awarded an exclusive contract by a resort chain to supply bulk peanuts for the chain's snack bars. A contract is signed with the term to begin in three months and extend for two years. Pricing per shipment is to be determined by the average monthly price for the previous month, less a fixed discount rate. Before any orders have been placed against this contract, the resort chain’s supply manager finds that other suppliers are offering deeper discounts. How, If at all, can the resort chain avoid its commitment to Supplier X and save money by buying elsewhere?

A commodity manager at company headquarters is given responsibility for consolidating spend among all the company's locations, with the goal of leveraging larger volumes. The manager collects data on spend categories, analyzes the information by supplier and type of material, and sends out goals for combining spend and reducing the number of suppliers. Several locations express reluctance to participate, saying that their needs for quality and delivery of critical parts have not been taken into consideration. Based on this situation, which of the following errors was MOST likely made by the commodity manager?

A company creates a corporate sourcing team with category management responsibilities. Previously, the firm had no dedicated sourcing staff, and all procurement was decentralized and transactional. The sourcing team is ready to commence its initial project. Which of the following should the team do FIRST?

During negotiations with a supply manager from FGH Inc., a supplier states that if FGH buys the 200 gigabyte version of its software package at a price of $700, the supplier will include a never-before-sold malware license valued at $147. FGH needs both the malware and the software package. If the supply manager agrees to the offer, FGH may claim a

Which of the following is MOST important to review before employing a low-cost country sourcing (LCCS) strategy in a remote region located in a distant geographical location?

A luxury scarf manufacturer located in Europe selects a fine wool supplier in Australia. The manufacturer's supply manager wants to ensure timely monthly deliveries while keeping transportation costs reasonable. Which of the following actions by the supply manager is MOST likely to meet the scarf company's needs?

Telling a seller during negotiations that "This is our best and final offer" is a(n)

An exploration firm's supply manager meets with the fleet operations team to plan for the acquisition of vehicles to be used in company operations on a remote Pacific island. As removing the old vehicles from the island has proven to be a significant problem, the team requests the inclusion of a "take-back" requirement in the contract. Which of the following is the BEST way for the supply manager to respond to this request?

A university is evaluating its student registration software. The current system, purchased from Supplier A, has been in place for five years and works well, but may be outdated. A new system provided by Supplier B includes an online chat feature, which Supplier A's system currently does not have. While the costs for the two systems are essentially the same, Supplier B's system has an additional one-time implementation cost of $250,000. Supplier A informs the university It will provide its own online chat option for a one-time fee of $50,000.

The university calculates that switching to any new platform will involve migration costs. In this situation, the BEST course of action for the university is to

For several years, an environmental services company has contracted on a single-source basis with a supplier that offers highly specialized testing procedures. The supplier’s performance is excellent, but it has Instituted frequent rate increases. The company’s supply manager is under pressure to reduce costs wherever possible, but developing other sources will be time-consuming. Given this situation, which of the following actions should the supply manager take FIRST?

A product is approaching end-of-life, and the firm is considering its various options. While long-term, ongoing conflicts have occurred between the current supplier and the buying organization, there are few other supply options available for this particular component. In this situation, which of the following is the BEST course of action for the firm to take to ensure continued supply?

A supply manager for XYZ, Inc. visits a manufacturer's plant and research division for a general inspection and product review. The supply manager is required to sign in at the registration desk and must acknowledge acceptance of the standard terms of visiting. After the visit, which includes very encouraging discussions, the supply manager returns to XYZ with a sample of a new product—an expensive item of complex design with innovative features. The supply manager must take specific precautions to protect the sample because

According to the Kraljic matrix, how should a product with high business impact and low supply market complexity be categorized?

A buyer wishes to stop future shipments of goods from a supplier who has failed to meet the delivery schedule for several months. The buyer wishes to retain the ability to seek damages resulting from the supplier's failure to perform. In this case, the buyer's BEST option is to employ which of the following?

A large manufacturing organization has a policy of awarding contracts to a single source based on bids for requirements over a specified time period. Some of the parts sourced are readily available from many suppliers, and the organization's supply management team recommends choosing a few of these parts for a trial project to determine the effectiveness of multiple sourcing. The MOST likely advantage of the multiple sourcing arrangement will be

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 software design firm has traditionally done most of its work in-house, including support services and distribution management. The firm is planning a large expansion, and is evaluating how the various departments can support It. The chief executive officer (CEO) recommends concentrating on core competencies to increase the firm's agility and emphasize what differentiates them from competitors. Which of the following is the BEST way supply management can support this recommendation?

A supply manager is planning to conduct negotiations with three potential suppliers, one of which will be selected to provide components for a new product line. A number of internal stakeholders have asked to participate in the negotiations. However, most of the stakeholders have not been involved with the sourcing process up to this point. In this situation, which of the following would be the BEST approach for the supply manager to take?

BCD Inc. is in the early stages of selecting a new procure to pay (P2P) system, which is expected to add efficiencies and reduce transaction costs. Which of the following is the BEST way for supply management to participate in the selection of this system?

CDE, Inc. contracts with a supplier for the fabrication of trade show booths and displays. The contract is on a cost-plus fixed fee (CPFF) basis, with the supplier's agreed-upon fee set at $15,000

and the estimated allowable cost of materials set at $20,000, for a total of $35,000. The supplier is able to bring down total material costs to $18,500. Given this situation, how much can the

supplier bill CDE for the project?

Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason why companies should consistently update internal purchasing policies?

A firm becomes a publicly-traded company. To ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, the company must report what types of risks (if any) on the annual report to shareholders?

MNO, Inc. is a manufacturing operation that has recently expanded from domestic to global locations. MNO's supply management department is considering a plan to obtain raw materials from suppliers nearby each location. The organization currently handles its sourcing from headquarters, which provides coordination and support for all contracts. Which of the following strategies will likely be MOST useful to MNO's expansion efforts?

In portfolio analysis, purchases for which the buying organization consolidates spend with a handful of suppliers but still maintains competition are BEST classified as

According to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to whom must an audit committee for a publicly traded company answer?

A manufacturing company purchases a certain component in quantities of 10,000 units per truckload. The company uses 2,000,000 units annually. The firm's supply manager identifies two possible suppliers of the component, both of which meet service and quality requirements.

Supplier A offers the component at $.69 per unit and charges $2000 to ship one truckload. Supplier B offers the component at $.71 per unit and charges $1500 to ship one truckload. Given this situation, which of the following will be MOST useful to the supply manager in deciding between the two suppliers?

DEF Corporation is a supplier whose products no longer require incoming inspection. Which of the following BEST describes DEF's supplier categorization?

A firm wants to reduce the supply base for a particular product from three to two suppliers. Which of the following is the BEST course of action for this firm to take?

RST, Inc. is a global electronics manufacturer which has purchased electronic assemblies from Supplier X for many years. RST has experienced occasional quality problems with these assemblies, and these problems have caused significant delays in production. Because RST's senior management regards Supplier X as a loyal supplier, the firm has not looked to replace it. Nevertheless, RST's supply manager feels that Supplier X has become complacent in Its relationship with RST and is behind the market in important technological advances. Which of the following should the supply manager do FIRST to convince RST's senior management to re-source the electronic assemblies?

A supply manager Is assigned to a new product similar to products the firm has developed in the past. Because the stakeholders have not defined all of the product's requirements, not all engineering diagrams have been completed, and the program is behind schedule. The program manager requests all procurement lead times for the project. Which of the following is the BEST way for supply manager to respond in this situation?

A company purchases a high-value product In an industry known for slow turnover on receivables. This creates issues with cash flow and presents a special challenge to supply management. Given this situation, which of the following should this firm negotiate to BEST avoid difficulties in the buyer/supplier relationship?

At what point in the development of a category strategy should spend review occur?

A firm has repeatedly experienced communication problems with three crucial suppliers. The firm's supply manager concludes that many of these problems are the result of not having regular business reviews with these suppliers. However, all three suppliers have indicated that they do not see the value in regular business reviews. Given this situation, which of the following is the BEST course of action for the supplier manager to take?

A supply management department for a manufacturing organization receives performance reports from four suppliers and evaluates the performance of these suppliers using the weighted-point approach. Factors related to employee resources, such as worker safety and worker dignity, are used to break any ties. A higher score denotes a more favorable rating.

CategoryWeightSupplier A ScoreSupplier B ScoreSupplier C ScoreSupplier D Score

Cost40%3454

Workers' compensation program20%5344

Support for employee resource groups20%5335

Customer satisfaction20%4444

Total100%

Which of these suppliers can be considered the BEST performer of the four?

A supply manager for DEF Inc. meets with the firm's operations team to discuss the requirements for a new piece of equipment. The team establishes the specifications, and the supply manager begins contacting suppliers. The supply manager finds that almost everything specified is outside the normal features of the equipment and will require custom modifications. These modifications will raise the cost to 2.5 times the amount budgeted. In this situation, which of the following should the supply manager do?

Due to growth, a private school system finds that its costs for support, including maintenance and janitorial services, have increased dramatically. Though supply management generally does a good job in managing service contracts, there Is no strategic plan or systematic method for reviewing costs on a long-term basis.

The school's board has made the development of a strategic plan the supply manager's priority assignment for the next school year. Given this situation, which of the following should be the supply manager's FIRST step in developing this plan?

EFG uses specialized components from Supplier A in the manufacture of state-of-the-art testing equipment. Supplier A has been very successful in meeting EFG's stringent quality specifications, which has been critical for EFG.

EFG learns that Supplier A plans to acquire a smaller firm which makes components similar to those under contract with EFG. EFG is concerned that the supplier may transfer its contract to the new subsidiary, leading to compromises in quality. Given this situation, which of the following is the BEST course of action for EFG to take?

Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason for holding a business review with a supplier?

What is the landed cost per unit for the following item?

Item cost$.76

Packaging for shipment$.02

Shipping from Indonesia$.14

Duty$.03

Customs clearance$.10

Storage at buyer’s warehouse$.09

Shipment from warehouse to plant$.06

For many years, BCD Inc. has purchased electronic assemblies from Supplier X. Based on Supplier X's past reliability, BCD eliminated incoming inspection of these assemblies several years ago. Recently, increasing quality problems have emerged, causing significant delays in BCD's manufacturing process. BCD's supply manager believes Supplier X is falling behind the market in technological advances and wants to assess the market for new opportunities. Given this situation, which of the following should the supply manager do FIRST?

A supply manager Is conducting the following activities:

•Mapping between category codes and category maps

•Normalizing supplier information

•Performing supplier mapping

•Refining mapping with financial systems data

Which of the following is the supply manager engaged in?

A supply manager Is conducting negotiations with a supplier. The supplier states that it cannot offer a lower price because the product under negotiation is covered by a government contract. In this situation, the supply manager should

A company employs a special testing device within its laboratories. The firm needs two additional units of this device with the same capabilities, but wants to encourage competition rather than be brand-specific. The company's supply manager issues a solicitation with the brand and model number of the devices in use, appended with the phrase "or functional equivalent". Suppliers of other brands submit inquiries as to what the firm's exact needs are. Which of the following is the BEST response the supply manager can make to these inquiries?

A supply manager is conducting financial analysis of bidders. The supply manager wants to select the supplier that is most efficient In the use of its assets. Based on the following information, which supplier should the supply manager choose?

EFG, Inc., a research firm, buys an ultra-high efficiency filter from Supplier A, which is the only capable source for this component. Supplier A informs EFG that the filter will soon be discontinued. EFG's supply manager finds filters with similar—though not identical—characteristics from another source and brings a small sample in for testing. The initial results are acceptable. Given this situation, which of the following is the MOST appropriate next step for the supply manager to take?

PQR, Inc. is a large international life insurance company. PQR's vice president of sales asks the firm's supply manager to require that any future procurement contracts contain a provision which obligates the supplier to make PQR's insurance products available to the supplier's employees for optional purchase. In this situation, the supply manager should

A firm is developing a solicitation to purchase materials in order to meet the needs of a new product launch. The firm anticipates that some or all of its existing suppliers will respond to the solicitation. Given this situation, which of the following is the BEST requirements gathering approach for the firm?

Which of the following Is the BEST way to address a supplier's service performance and product quality during an annual business review?

Which of the following is the BEST method for comparing a supplier's performance to that of another organization, with the goal of understanding where improvements might be made?

Which of the following are considered internal stakeholders?

A product's labor content is $10 and its overhead is $12.50. The product sells for $36.50 per unit. Over the past year, supply management has reduced the product's cost of materials from $14 per unit to $12.

How much have supply management's efforts contributed to profit?

A service provider has experienced diminished value and stagnant results within an important category. Which of the following is the BEST course of action the firm can take to improve the category strategy?

A supply manager seeks bids on a new piece of capital equipment. The equipment is budgeted at $115,000. Three suppliers send in bids of $110,000, $114,000 and 5135,000. After receiving the bids, additional negotiations with the low bidder result in a final cost of $105,000. In this situation, what should the baseline value be for calculating cost avoidance?

An organization selects a supplier for a complex system implementation that will be conducted in several stages. Prompt initiation of the project is necessary in order to maintain the schedule, but the stakeholders have not yet defined the later milestones and deliverables. Which of the following would be the MOST appropriate course of action for the buying organization to take regarding the statement of work (SOW) for this project?

A team from RST, Inc. is conducting a negotiation session with a supplier. During the session, RST's lead negotiator perceives that various members of the supplier's team are being evasive on the issue of the supplier's capacity to handle the project. However, there is no apparent sign that the other members of RST's team share this perception. Given this situation, which of the following is the BEST course of action for the lead negotiator to take?

Which of the following BEST describes the strategic sourcing process?

A company buys 200 metric tons of ethylene per month. The firm has a one-year agreement with Supplier X to buy the ethylene at $1000 per metric ton. After 3 months, the market price drops to $900 per metric ton, and the firm renegotiates the price to $890 per metric ton for the remaining contract term.

What savings should be reported?

A supply manager is working with multiple management layers to create a procurement policy. Which of the following should the supply manager do FIRST in order to ensure that this policy is successfully adopted by the organization?

A supply manager for an electronics manufacturer is asked to source packaging for the company's new printed circuit board. The specifications recommend 0.50 mm tolerances, with a projected breakage ratio of 0.50%, at a cost of $1.00 each. The supply manager finds an alternative source that is specified at 0.60 mm tolerances, with a projected breakage ratio of 0.75%, at a cost of $0.80 each. If the cost of the new circuit board is $120 per unit, which packaging should the supply manager recommend and why?

A supply manager for UVW, Inc. Is considering the use of lead division buying. Which of the following factors is MOST supportive of such efforts?

A firm’s primary goal for its upcoming raw material negotiations with a well-performing supplier is cost reduction. In order to achieve this, which of the following courses of action should supply management take?

A company buys electronic connectors in lot sizes of 5000 units at a price of $1.00 per unit, including freight. This connector has an annual usage of 80,000 units. The carrying cost is 25% per year. Assuming a constant consumption rate, what are the annual carrying costs for the connectors?