AMITY SCHOOL OF DISTANCE LEARNING

Post Box No. 503, Sector-44

Noida 201303
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT
Assignment A
Marks 10
Answer all questions.

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

a) Define Logistics. Discuss and elaborate various components of logistics management.

b) Describe the concept of total cost analysis to logistics.
a) What is supply chain management? What are the various flows in a supply chain?
b) What are the functions and contributions of supply chain management?
a) What is meant by customer service? What are its features?
b) What are different elements of customer service costs? Explain its fundamental trade-offs.
a) Discuss the role of information in overall performance of logistics and supply chain
management.
b) What are various components of Logistics Information System architecture? How does LIS
facilitate improvement in logistics decision making?
a) What is inventory? Discuss various elements of inventory costs.
b) Define the concept and objectives of MRP and DRP.

Assignment B
Marks 10
Answer all questions.
1.

a) Discuss the nature and scope of storage, warehouse and distribution centres.
b) Discuss the various functions of a warehouse from the logistics and supply chain perspective.
2.
a) Describe the role of transportation in the success of logistics and supply chain.
b) What are the issues that should be considered by a logistics manager in selecting a mode of
transport?
3.
a) Describe the functions of packaging in LSCM perspective.
b) What are the objectives and principles of material handling?
4. Case study: Please read the case study given below and answer questions given at the end
Case Study
Maruti Udyog-Indian Ethos & Japanese ways
Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), the leading manufacturer of cars in India is a leader in supplier
relationship management. Its turnover was Rs 12,481.00 crores and its profit before tax \was 1750 crore
in 2005-06. It sold 5, 61,822 vehicles in 2005-06 and captured a market share of over 55 percent. It deals
with about 7100 components for its eleven major models. Seventy percent of its suppliers by numbers are
located within 100 km radius of its Gurgaon plant. They meet more than 80 percent of Marutis
requirement by value.

Maruti has 220 approved vendors who supply the major components. The top 80 vendors supply
86 percent by value of their purchases. The rest of the vendors supplies only 14 percent. It has also
signed joint ventures with a large number of its vendors. Of the 86 percent components supplied by
vendors, joint ventures supply only 34 percent; the rest of the 52 percent by value is supplied by other
vendors. These 80 vendors are considered strategic partners. Only 20 to 30 of them are Maruti joint
ventures.
With strategic partners, Maruti has a number of programmes. Their emphasis is on vendor
productivity and quality. Maruti take a major role in improving vendor productivity. It organizes Junkai VA
or cost workshops with its vendors on an ongoing basis. Junkai is a Japanese word which basically
means visiting. It has 3 components called three G- Genmab, Gembutsu, and Genjitsu.
Gemba means taking a look to see what is happening at the site. Gembutsu means examining
the affected piece to understand what exactly the defect is. Genjitsu means discussing under what
conditions this has happened something like a brainstorming session. Typically, a team from Marut,
along with the supplier team visits the suppliers shop floor, has look around, noting down points. They
then have a brainstorming session at the Maruti office. At the end of the brainstorming, they come out with
various points relating to improvements in productivity, quality and cost.
Maruti also has constituted a group called Maruti Centre for Excellence. This is a team which
continuously goes to suppliers to upgrade them. It audits the workings of its suppliers and comes out with
a spider chart. The spider chart has 22 points. Each vendor is evaluated in these 22 points. Additional
business is promised on the next new model to vendors who score over 60 percent on the spider chart.
Every vendor really tries to make sure that he goes above this mark.
Apart from this, it has also started second tier improvement in a very big way. This was the latest
initiative it took up a year ago. The result has been that the second tier vendors quality has also gone up.
It has also started green initiatives. Accordingly, all packing has been converted into reusable packing. It
recently introduced a practice to check the pollution levels of all the trucks getting into Maruti; if pollution
levels were not right, then the trucks were sent back. This made its vendors understand that Maruti cared
about the environment.
Further, it follows the Kaizen theme, which means to make it smaller, fewer, lighter, shorter, and
beautiful. It follows this theme in its plant and has been continuously teaching this practice to its vendors.
It conserves the usage of material and yield improvement. Moreover, along with CII and USAID, it has
started a programme to help its suppliers get ISO 14000 certification. It has also started a programme on
ELV compliance. Though this is not required in India, the idea is that by the time the requirement comes
to India, Marutis vendors will all be sufficiently equipped to take care of it. It also has a vendor finance
cost reduction programme. It has lined up with banks to see that the loans of its suppliers are transferred
to lower interest rates. Through these initiatives Maruti has become more agile and leaner.
In 2005-06, Maruti trained around 16 vendors and ultimately the savings of man hours per day
came to 1580 man hours, which has resulted in a saving of over one crore rupees per annum. It was able
to reduce component costs by 29 percent on the Alto alone from 2001 to 2005.
Questions:
1)
2)
3)
4)

What is supplier relationship management?

What was Marutis objective on supplier relationship?
Discuss the kind of relationship Maruti adopted with its vendors.
What are the methods adopted by Maruti to achieve supplier relationship?

Assignment C
Marks 10
Answer all questions.
Tick Marks () the most appropriate answer
1. Carrier performance measures does not include
a) Speed
b) Claim settlement ratio
c) Area of ware house owned
d) Frequency
2. Which of the following is not a characteristic of logistics
a) It ensures a smooth flow of all types of goods
b) It has the ability to meet customer expectations and requirements
c) It offers the best possible customer service at any cost
d) It deals with movement and storage of goods in appropriate quantities
3. All of the following are the objectives of logistics except
a) To make available the right quantity of material at right quality at right time, at the right
place in right condition at right price
b) To offer best possible customer service for competitive advantage
c) To promote the product through the logistic channels
d) To minimize total logistics costs
4. The logistics costs in India is ___ percentage of GDP
a) 20%
b) 13%
c) 18%
d) 7%
5. Which of the following does not provide a way to create competitive advantage
a) Low cost
b) Low flexibility
c) Superior customer service
d) Value added services
6. All of the following are primary activities in a value chain except
a) In bound logistics
b) Operations
c) Technology development
d) Service
7. Which of the following is not a desired flow in a supply chain
a) Forward flow of value
b) Flow of goods in both the directions
c) Backward flow of cash
d) Flow of information in both the directions
8. Which of the following is not a feature of customer service
a) It is reactive process
b) Ensures a trade-off between cost and service
c) Creates a competitive advantage
d) Brings about harmonious relationship with supply chain members
9. All of the following are post transactional customer service elements except
a) Installation, warranty, repairs, etc
b) Customer claims, complaints and returns

c) Stock out level

d) Temporary replacement of products
10. Freight charges depends on all of the following except
a) Nature of the product
b) Value of the product
c) Distance to be covered
d) Volume/quantity to be shipped

11. Physical distribution in terms of logistics is known as

a) Inbound logistics
b) Outbound logistics
c) In plant logistics
d) Reverse logistics
12. Which of the following is not a feature of supply chain
a) Supply chain is a network of entities
b) The more the number of stages in a supply chain the more will be its complexity
c) Supply chain efficiency and effectiveness are the same
d) Supply chain profit should be shared equitably by all the chain members
e)
13. Supply chain conflicts can be reduced by all of the following except
a) Use of power by the dominant partner
b) Involvement by investment
c) Information sharing
d) Transfer of technology and skills
14. Which of the following is not a key output of the logistics system
a) Creating Competitive advantage
b) Time & Place utility
c) Creating Proprietary asset
d) Increased cash flow
15. Logistics stand for
a) Whatever is logical and reasonable
b) Movement of materials to destinations
c) Putting together conclusions logically
d) Moving, supplying and warehousing materials and information in an enterprise
16. Supply Chain Management covers
a) Management of suppliers and vendors
b) Management of inventories, warehousing, transportation and documentation relating to
all suppliers
c) Management of demand and supplies at minimum cost but greater customer satisfaction
d) Warehousing management
17. Transportation management is
a) A small and significant part of SCM
b) Too specialized and should be managed separately
c) Does not affect customer service
d) Forms a major component of costs and should be synchronized to enhance customer
satisfaction
18. A fourth party logistics provider is
a) An organization that provides transportation
b) An organization that provides warehousing facility

c) An organization that manages inventory and information

d) An organization that provides comprehensive supply chain solution
19. Which of the following does not fit into the features of customer service
a) Providing customer service at any cost
b) Strategic processes that provides value added services
c) Creates competitive advantage in the market place
d) It reflects corporate vision
20. The internal web of an organization that allows only the internal users to access and share data is
called
a) Intranet
b) EDI
c) Extranet
d) Internet
21. Which of the following is not an inventory related cost
a) Receivables
b) Ordering cost
c) Carrying cost
d) Stock-out cost
22. Which of the following is not an assumption of basic EOQ model
a) Annual demand, carrying cost and ordering cost can be estimated and is constant
b) Half of order quantity is considered as safety stock
c) Stock out has no effect
d) Quantity discounts does not exist
23. Inventory analysis based on the annual consumption value is called
a) ABC analysis
b) VED analysis
c) FSN analysis
d) XYZ analysis
24. All are inputs to MRP system except
a) Bill of materials
b) Inventory status file
c) Master production schedule
d) ABC analysis file
25. All are features of Distribution Resources Planning except
a) DRP Deals with finished goods inventory
b) DRP operates in an independent demand situation
c) DRP is an explosion process
d) Inputs to DRP is the distribution networks
26. Which of the following is not associated with JIT system
a) Waste elimination
b) Mass production
c) Single piece flow
d) Pull system
27. All are economic function of warehouse except
a) Stock piling
b) Receiving
c) Breaking bulk
d) Consolidation

28. The charges levied by a municipal corporation

a) Sales tax
b) VAT
c) Octroi
d) Excise
29. Mode of economic surface transportation for bulk solid material over a long distance is
a) Rail
b) Road
c) Rope ways
d) Conveyors
30. Intermodal transportation system arising out of the coordination between roadways and railways
is known as
a) Piggyback
b) Fishy back
c) Tran-ship
d) Express cargo
31. All are principles of material handling except
a) First principle
b) Mechanization principle
c) Flexibility principle
d) Energy principle
32. Which of the following is not true for Air Way Bill
a) Receipt of goods
b) Contract for affreightment
c) Negotiable document
d) Issued by carrier
33. Which of the following is not a carrier selection determinant
a) Transportation cost
b) b) Transit time
c) Reliability
d) Vehicle cost
34. A bonded warehouse is:
a) An open stockyard with high walls and other security measures for extra protection of goods
stored
b) A warehouse in the premises of airport where goods imported by air are kept
c) A warehouse where goods on which customs or excise duties have not been paid are kept
d) A government warehouse used for storing confiscated goods
35. LCL stands for
a) Less than normal Cargo Load
b) Less than Container Load
c) Low Cargo Load
d) Less Costlier Load
36. Penalty charged by a carrier for not clearing a consignment from their warehouse during the
allowable time limit is known as
a) Damage
b) Demurrage
c) Liquidated damages
d) Penal charges

37. Certificate of origin is issued by

a) Bank in the exporting country
b) Manufacturer
c) Chamber of commerce
d) The carrier
38. Which of the following is not an advantage of containerization
a) Reduces damages
b) Increases investment on handling
c) Reduces packaging
d) Reduces loss
39. All are related to bullwhip effect except
a) It is the amplification of demand variation as one moves upstream in the supply chain
b) Forecast errors and lead-time variability add to bullwhip effect
c) The phenomena was first noted by Wal-Mart
d) The effect can be reduced by information sharing, vendor managed inventory, etc.
40. All are functions of order processing except
a) Order planning
b) Order handling
c) Order delivery
d) Order pending