Operations and Supply Chain Management Review

Flashcards covering key definitions, strategic elements, performance dimensions, and supply chain management concepts from Chapters 1 and 2.

What is a mission statement?

A statement that explains why an organization exists, describing its core values and identifying its domain.

How is business strategy defined?

A strategy that identifies a firm's targeted customers and sets time frames and performance objectives focusing on differentiation or low cost, coordinating decisions regarding structural and infrastructural elements.

What is a distinctive core competency?

An organizational strength or ability developed over a long period that customers find valuable and competitors find difficult or impossible to copy.

What is an operations strategy?

A vision that aligns performance objectives to broad decisions shaping the operations resources, capabilities, and processes.

What are structural elements in operations strategy, and what are their decision categories?

Tangible resources such as buildings, equipment, and computer systems. Their decision categories are Capacity, Facilities, and Process Technology.

What are infrastructural elements in operations strategy, and what decision categories do they include?

Policies, people, decision rules, and organizational structure choices. Their decision categories include Organization, Sourcing decisions and purchasing process, Planning and control, Business processes and quality management, and Product and service development.

What do the acronym OGST and the Consulting Cascade framework represent?

OGST stands for Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Tactics. The Consulting Cascade framework consists of Aspirations, Where to Play, How to Win, and How to Configure.

What is the Value Index and what is another term for it?

A measure that uses performance and importance scores for various performance dimensions to calculate an item or service's overall value to a customer. It is also known as Voice of the Customer.

What are the four primary performance dimensions in operations and supply chain strategies?

Quality, Time, Flexibility, and Cost.

What are the three quality subdimensions defined in operations strategy?

Performance Quality (basic operating characteristics), Conformance Quality (whether made or performed to specifications), and Reliability Quality (whether it works long-term without failing or requiring maintenance).

What are the three time-related performance dimensions?

Delivery Speed (how quickly fulfillment occurs once a need is identified), Delivery Reliability (ability to deliver products or services when promised), and Delivery Window (the acceptable time range in which deliveries can be made).

What are the three flexibility dimensions in operations strategy?

Mix Flexibility (ability to produce a wide range of products/services), Changeover Flexibility (ability to produce a new product with minimal delay), and Volume Flexibility (ability to produce whatever volume the customer needs).

What is the difference between Order Winners and Order Qualifiers?

Order Winners are performance dimensions that differentiate a company's products/services from competitors to win business, while Order Qualifiers are performance dimensions on which customers expect a minimum level of performance.

What is Operations Management?

The planning, scheduling, and control of the activities that transform inputs into finished goods and services.

What is Supply Chain Management?

The active management of supply chain activities and relationships in order to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

What is a supply chain and what are the three main flows that link it together?

A network of manufacturers and service providers that work together to create products or services needed by end users. They are linked through physical flows, information flows, and monetary flows.

What is the difference between upstream and downstream supply chain activities, as well as first-tier and second-tier suppliers?

Upstream refers to activities or firms positioned earlier in the supply chain, while downstream refers to those positioned later. A first-tier supplier directly provides products/services to a firm, while a second-tier supplier provides products/services to a firm's first-tier supplier.

What are the five primary management activities in the SCOR model?

Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and Return.

Which professional organization replaced APICS as the primary association for supply chain management?

ASCM (Association of Supply Chain Management).

What are key major trends transforming operations and supply chain management?

Digital Transformation and Supply Chain 4.0, Sustainability and Circular Supply Chains, Resilience and Risk Management, Customer-Centric and On-Demand Supply Chains, Automation and Robotics, Data-Driven Decision-Making, and Globalization and Regionalization.