Question

1. What is the primary goal of queuing analysis?

2. Briefly explain how artificial variability hinders smooth flow scheduling.

3. Briefly describe the steps and purpose of Delphi method.

4. Explain the benefits of a vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system for the supplier and for the customer.

5. How does SCM support the quality, delivery, and flexibility competitive priorities?

Answer 1

1) primary goal of Queuing method: The primary goal of queuing method is to balance the cost of providing a level of service especialy with the cost of customers waiting for services.

3)Steps of Delphi method:

• Choose a Facilitator: The first step is to choose a facilitator. you may wish to take on this role yourself, or find a aneutral person within yours organisation. It is useful to have someone that is familiere with research and date collection.
• Identify Your Experts: This techniques relies on a panel of experts. This panel may be your project team, including the customers, or industry. An expert is, "any individual with relevent knowledge and experience of a particular topic.
• Define the Problem: What is the problem or issue you are seeking to understand? The expert need to know what problem they are commenting on, so ensure you provide a precise and comprehensive definition.
• Round One Questions: Ask general questions to gain a broad understanding of the experts view on future events. The questions may go out in the form of a questionnaire or survey, collate and summarises the responses, removing any irrelevent material and looking for common viewpoints.
• Round Two Questions: Based on he answer to the first questions, the next question should delve deeper into the topic to clarify the specific issues. These questions may also go out in the form of a questionnaire or, survey, Again, collate and summarise the resuts, removing any irrelevent materials and look for the common ground. Remember, we are seeking to build concensus.
• 6) Round Three Questions: The final questionnaire aims to focus on supplying decision making. Hone in on the areas of agreement.

What is the experts are all agreed upon?

You may wish to have more than three rounds of questionning to reach a close consensus.

• Action Your Findings: After this round of questions, your experts will have, we hope, reached s concensus and you will have a view of future events. Analyse the findings and put plans in place to deal with future risks and opportunities to your project.

purpose of Delphi method is to determine the extent to which experts or lay people agree about a given issue and with each other and in deeds where they disagree, Achieve a consensus opinion.

Delphi method is usually conducted through questionnaire.

Benefits of VMI for suppliers:

• More Control: VMI gives more control so they can accurately forecast demand. As a result, production can be more efficient. They can practice lean manufacturing and make frequent deliveries, Also, VMI reduces stock levels, and decrease stock shortages, Moreover, vendors using VMIwill have total visibility in to their customers inventory levels.
• Strengthen Customer-Vendor Relationships: Suppliers are able to develop stronger relationship with their customers through better quality service. Vendors in VMI will become more valuable suppliers. In turn, this will increase the strategic communicaion. VMI can provide major benefits for both parties.
• Reduce Inventory Cost: Since VMI gives vendor control, they can eliminate wastages, non-value addin factors, and other costs. Accurate planning cuts the cost of store excess inventory and reduces obsolete stock. More importantly, vendors are able to eliminate stock shortages and the high delivery of costs to ship expedited orders

Benefits of VMI to Customers:

• Reduced Inventory Overstocks and Stock Shortages: As mentioned, VMI can reduce overstocks and stock shortages. As a result, they are reducing the factors that cause uncertainity. Not having the right products in stocks can be a big problem for customers. Moreover, this can be costly. Sales will be lost from stock shortages and overstocked items will have storage costs.
• Increase Sales: VMI can increase sales by ensuring products are always in stocks and available for purchase. Product availability will boost the quality of customer service and create brand loyality. As a result, this means more returning customers and sales over time.
• Less Responsibility: Typically, a vendor's customers are distributors or retailers. They are often recieving from hundreads of different suppliers and many different locations. For this reason, it is hard to keep track of inventory moving in and out. This is where VMI comes in to defer responsibility. It lowers costs, reduces admin work, and allow them to focus their efforts on other areas within their business.