Question

What best describes the evolution of supply chain management?

What are the supply chain management phases and the types of relationships that occur?

What are the barriers or constraints associated with supply chain management?

How important is Logistics Support Analysis to the ILS process? Briefly critique.

Why must the logistics manager understand the concept of maintenance, maintenance procedures, and the types of maintenance?

What best describes the reverse logistics concept and why is it important to the profession logistics manager?

What are the principles of reliability and maintainability?

What are Life Cycle Costs and synthesize the four types of costs?

Answer 1

1. The root of supply chain is in 1911 when research made on how to improve manual loading process. Thereafter, operation research began where scientists demonstrated the value of analytics in the study of military logistics at the time of World War II. In 1950s the concept was extended to Transportation management. In 1960s and 1970s, inventory optimization done due to the computerization.

2. Supply chain management can be broadly classified into five phases. The first phase, planning. Company executives and managers develop strategies to manage resources for timely product delivery. Metrics should be developed to monitor progress and compliance. The second phase, choosing suppliers. Mangers are responsible for developing a system for pricing delivery and payment. The third phrase, manufacturing. The manger schedules activities necessary for production, testing, packaging and preparation for delivery of goods or services to customers. The manufacturing process is very intense; worker productivity, level of quality and product output are monitored at this stage. Stage 4: Delivery: the delivery stage encompasses all the steps from processing customer inquiries to selecting distribution strategies and transportation options. Companies must also manage warehousing and inventory or pay for a service provider to manage these tasks for them.Stage 5: return is associated with managing all returns of defective products, including identifying the product condition, authorizing returns, scheduling product shipments, replacing defective products and providing refunds.

3. barriers associated with supply chain management are:

Lack of top management help and support

Non-aligned strategic and the operating philosophies being included

Inadequate and inconsistent performance measures

potential barriers or the resisting forces are intimidating. The resisting forces to the strategic supplychain management are from the nature of the organization and the people making the organization. If the supply chain management is to be implemented over the organization, a revamp of attitudes and thinking is needed and necessary.

4. ILS is an integrated and iterative process for developing material and a support strategy that optimizes functional support, leverages existing resources, and guides the system engineering process to quantify and lower cycle cost and decreases the logistics footprint.

5. Each maintenance activity, procedure, and type of maintenance involves a variety of specialized areas that are unique to each field. Every process involves unique needs in concerning supply support, maintenance support and personnel, training and training support, facilities, test, measuring, handling, and support equipment, technical data, and IT resources. A thorough understanding of each practice is vital to the success of a fully operational and economical logistics structure and supply chain.

6. Reverse logistics is the process of returning unwanted goods, waste and damaged goods and equipment to back to the firm through a logistics chain such as recycling, reuse, or disposal. The concept was developed for the optimum utilization of resources. Reverse logistics is critical to logistics managers because the utilization of all resources effects the bottom line in every aspect of the supply chain. Appropriately and economically managing excess, damaged, or unwanted materials is critical to a successful supply chain process.

7. Availability, reliability and maintainability are the three key attributes to logistics managers. Maintainability is defined as the probability that a system or system element can be repaired in a defined environment within a specified period of time.

8. Life cycle costing is the process of estimating how much money you will spend on an asset over the course of its useful life. Four type of cost are development, acquisition, ownership and disposal