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Amazon wants to ship stuff even before you order it
Very interesting article on how Amazon takes supply chain management to the next level – it gained a patent for shipping products even before customers order these – click here
Q&A : Crocs case
1. What percentage of safety stock would manufacturers in the footwear industry typically produce when meeting their fall orders (“pre-books”)?
2. How many pairs of their first flip-flop sandal model did Crocs produce in 2006?
3. What was the name of the Canadian manufacturer whose shoes Crocs was reselling as of 2004, which was subsequently bought out?
100 second reflection for week 1
Think for 100 seconds, and summarize the key things that you learned in the class in today’s class (week 1, day 2).
Crocs case
MIS 3537 Internet & Supply Chains
Spring 2014
Due Date: Jan 30, 2014
Refer to the case “Crocs: Revolutionizing an Industry’s Supply Chain Model for Competitive Advantage” from the Harvard Business Publishing website
Answer the following questions briefly:
1. What are Croc’s core competencies?
2. How should they exploit these competencies in the future? Consider the following alternatives and comment how each alternative matches / does not match with Crocs core competencies.
- Further vertical acquisition into materials
- Growth by acquisitions
- Growth by product expansion
3. What are the drawbacks of having too little or too much inventory?
4. Is Crocs a high margin or a low margin company (compared to competitors)? How does a company’s margin impact its inventory decisions? In other words, should a high margin company carry more or less inventory?
One group will present this case in the class, and another group will post the correct answers to these case questions on the blog after the class discussion. Rest of the groups are required to submit a printout of their answers to the instructor at the beginning of the class. Also, be prepared to discuss the case in the class.
Here are some tips for writing the case answers:
1. Answers should be brief and to the point (10 lines max)
2. Answers should be substantiated by proper reasoning from the case or other sources.
3. Avoid general statements such as “make customers happy”, “increase profits” etc without proper explanations
Q&A: Supply Chain Terms
Explain each of the following terms (each student may not attempt more than 3-4 terms to ensure broad participation)
Q&A: week 1
Multiple Choice Answers (Choose one correct answer)
The management of an effective supply chain requires the coordination of a wide range of activities which include:
a. inbound logistics (e.g. purchasing and material releasing, inbound transportation, receiving, materials handling).
b. operations (e.g. inventory control and management, demand and supply planning, production planning).
c. outbound logistics (e.g. warehousing and distribution, outbound transportation).
d. Only a and c
e. all of the above.
Q&A : Intro to Supply Chains
Explain the following technologies, and how these are used in supply chains:
1. Extranet
2. VPN
Q&A: Supply chain for online prespription glasses
Here is a story in the New York Times (click here) on how a company Warby Parker has created a business model of selling designer prescription glasses online. Comment on the important role played by supply chain management in the success of this idea.
Q&A: Software in Supply Chains
Here is a diagram (sap scm) showing the different software modules used in supply chain management. Based on this, do you think MIS professionals need to understand supply chains? Why or why not?