To prepare effectively for an SCM midterm, students should be able to:
Most professors use a mix of multiple-choice, short answer, and quantitative problems. Here is what you will likely see.
Question 1 – EOQ
A company sells 10,000 units per year of a product. The ordering cost is $50 per order, and the holding cost is $4 per unit per year.
a) Calculate the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ).
b) How many orders will be placed per year?
c) What is the total annual inventory cost (ordering + holding) at EOQ?
Question 2 – Safety Stock & Reorder Point
Daily demand for an item is normally distributed with mean = 200 units and standard deviation = 30 units. Lead time is 4 days. The company wants a 95% service level (z = 1.65).
a) Compute the safety stock.
b) Compute the reorder point.
Question 3 – Forecast Accuracy
Given actual demand and forecast below, calculate the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) for periods 2–4. supply chain management midterm exam questions
| Period | Actual | Forecast | |--------|--------|----------| | 1 | 100 | 100 | | 2 | 110 | 105 | | 3 | 120 | 115 | | 4 | 130 | 125 |
The Prompt: "In 2019, a major automotive manufacturer had a single source for microchips in Taiwan. In 2021, a drought, a fire at a fabrication plant, and a pandemic caused a 14-month production shutdown. Using Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) theory, analyze what went wrong and propose three specific structural fixes."
This article provides a concise, organized set of midterm-style questions for a supply chain management (SCM) course, grouped by topic and difficulty, plus brief answer keys and exam-taking tips. Instructors can use these to build exams or quizzes; students can use them for study and self-testing.
Answer hints:
These questions require precise language and real-world examples.
Question 6: Define the "Triple Bottom Line" (3BL) in the context of sustainable supply chains.
Model Answer: The Triple Bottom Line evaluates supply chain performance across three dimensions: Profit (economic viability – e.g., cost reduction), People (social responsibility – e.g., fair labor practices), and Planet (environmental impact – e.g., carbon footprint). A sustainable SCM strategy optimizes all three, not just profit.
Question 7: Explain the difference between cycle stock and safety stock. To prepare effectively for an SCM midterm, students
Model Answer: Cycle stock is the inventory expected to be sold during a normal order cycle (e.g., the average inventory between deliveries). Safety stock is extra inventory held to protect against demand variability or supply lead time uncertainty. Cycle stock covers expected demand; safety stock covers the unexpected.
Question 8: What is the "cross-docking" strategy in warehousing?
Model Answer: Cross-docking is a logistics practice where incoming goods from suppliers are directly unloaded from inbound trucks and loaded onto outbound trucks with little to no storage in between. It reduces inventory holding costs and cycle time. It is widely used by retailers like Walmart.
Supply Chain Management midterms typically cover the foundational aspects of the course, focusing on the "Plan, Source, Make, Deliver" framework. Exams generally consist of a mix of multiple-choice questions (testing definitions), quantitative problems (testing calculations), and essay/case study questions (testing strategic application). The core areas assessed are Inventory Management, Forecasting, Logistics/Transportation, and Strategic Sourcing. The Prompt: "In 2019, a major automotive manufacturer