Question 1 a) For a product or organisation of your choice, analyse the effectiveness of the supply chain of this product or organisation, explaining clearly the different flows within this supply chain.

b) Assess the key strategic decisions for the chosen supply chain above,showing how the decisions have impacted on the effectiveness of the supply chain.

c) Explain why the material flows within the supply chain are as important as the information flows.

Question 2 a) Explain giving examples, the principles behind outsourcing in supply chains.What challenges are likely to be faced when adopting this approach?

b) Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is another strategic option often used to control inventory costs. Evaluate the use of VMI as an approach to inventory management in a supply chain of your choice.

Question 3. Explain, giving examples, the opportunities for e-business or B2B for an organisation seeking to develop an effective supply chain strategy. What benefits can be maximized from this supply chain strategy?

Question 4. "A major weakness in SCM literature is that the authors appear to assume that everyone knows who is a member of the supply chain. There has been little effort to identify specific supply chain members, key processes that require integration or what management must do to successfully manage the supply chain" (Brewer et al).

a) Using an organisation of your choice, discuss, giving examples, the importance of supply chain mapping.

b) Describe the major obstacles that must be overcome to successfully manage a supply chain.

Question 5. a) Explain, giving examples, how a supply chain can compete using quick response (QR) approaches in its operations.

b) Evaluate the use of Activity Based Costing (ABC) in enhancing performance of a supply chain of your choice.

Question 6. a) Modern society is a "now" society in that people want things instantly.Discuss, with examples, the operational pressures this has placed on supply chain of your choice.

b) Explain how the pressures you have identified in (a) can be reduced,alleviated, or eliminated?

Question 7. Critically assess the extent to which lean and agile approaches contribute towards supply chain competitiveness in an industry of your choice.

Question 8. For an organisation of your choice, explain how the use of strategic analysis and strategic choice enabled it to make major improvements to its overall supply chain design.