EXAM FORMAT

– Fully open book take home assignment

• 24 hours take home assignment/exam.

• You don’t need to work more than 3 hours to complete the assignment. No

extension, no excuse for late submission.

• Submit your assignment by uploading your answers to Canvas.

– Final assignment include 4 questions:

• One short-answer question built on what has been discussed in the classroom

• Three questions using the same Case Study

– How to answer: write your answers on the spaces given in the “Exam Questions”.

• Each answer should not be longer than 150 – 300 words. Specific instruction given

for each (sub)question.

• Bullet points (i.e., dot points) are totally fine.

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EXAM PREPARATION

– ALL topics covered in the semester could be on the exam (make sure you review

all learning materials), including all blocks / topics:

• Inventory Control

• SOP and Aggregate Planning

• Network Design and Planning

– You will NOT be asked to build the model in Excel from scratch, but you will need

Excel for.

– Model auditing

– Model improvement, revision/amendment

– Evaluation of alternative approaches and making recommendations

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EXAM PREPARATION

– Questions will assess your ability to:

• Think critically

• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of alternative methods used for

Inventory Control, Aggregate Planning, SOP, Network Design

• Justify your recommendations based on the information available at hand

• Examine Excel Solver models and discuss what the models do, what constraints

they use

• Interpret model results, making recommendations for Supply Chain Planning

and Design strategies, tactics, and operations.

• Discuss limitation and usability of models/methods

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BLOCK 1: INVENTORY CONTROL

– What is the aim of inventory control?

– Inventory Control Models

• ROP – demand is certain

• ROP – demand is uncertain

• What is the key strategy to

deal with demand uncertainty?

• How does desired service level

influence (SL) out average

inventory level (AIL)?

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BLOCK 1: INVENTORY CONTROL

– Inventory Control Models: ROP extensions

• What are the key assumptions around supply that ROP use?

• What if these assumptions are violated?

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BLOCK 1: INVENTORY CONTROL

– Inventory Control

Models: Periodical

Review Model

• When to use PRM

instead of ROP?

• What are the

strengths and

weaknesses or PRM?

• What if we have

more than one

products to manage?

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BLOCK 1: INVENTORY CONTROL

– Inventory Control Models:

alternative Models

• Min-Max method

• TRM method

• Quantity discount

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BLOCK 1: INVENTORY CONTROL

– Inventory Control Models: Multiechilons

• What is the role of information

sharing in optimal inventory control?

• What models can be used? ROP,

PRM, Min-Max, TRM

• What consideration do you give to

echelon stock, lead time and

installation stock?

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BLOCK 1: INVENTORY CONTROL

– Inventory Control Models: Time-varying

• What if demand is not static?

• What is the difference between demand

uncertainty vs. demand seasonality?

• What IC approaches could be used and why

• One time procumbent

• Lot for Lot

• EOQ

• POQ (Periodic Order Quantity)

• MIP

• Newsvendor model

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BLOCK 2: AGGREGATE PLANNING AND SOP

– What if you have thousands of products to

manage the inventory?

– Trade-offs between capacity, utilisation, and

inventory/stockout costs

– Chase strategy

– Flexibility strategy

– Level strategy

– When to use which strategy

– MIP model: what to consider?

– Can we change the demand?

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BLOCK 3: NETWORK DESIGN

– What decisions are to be made?

– How competitive advantages may influence

network design?

– What are the four phases of network design

optimisation?

– What are the key factors we need to account for

in designing our SC network?

– What methods are available?

– Transportation method

– Network optimisation model

– Centre of Gravity model

– What are the key differences between these

methods? Why fuzz?

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BLOCK 3: NETWORK DESIGN OPTIONS FOR A GIVEN DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS

– What options are available?

– When to use which design?

– What are the strengths and weaknesses of each distribution network?

– Can you give an example of the real SC network for each option?

– Can you analyse a strategy adopted by a certain retailer and make recommendation for

improvement?

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