Everything for the Exam

Question 1

Why (mass) customization + trade-off

Answer 1

• Customized products enjoy a significant price premium due to meeting customer-specific requirements
• Efficiency vs. Variety

Question 2

Definition of Mass Customization

Answer 2

Customization of products for a mass market of customers with near mass production efficiency

Question 3

Mass customization: mass production (3)

Answer 3

• Product-push
• Economies of scale
• Standardization

Question 4

Mass customization is (2)

Answer 4

• product-pull

- increases differentiation

Question 5

Customer-order-decoupling-point (CODP) Definition

Answer 5

Point in the production process after which production occurs based upon actual customer demand (as opposed to estimated demand)

Question 6

CODP

• alternative name
• Potential points

Answer 6

• push-pull-boundary
• Engineer to order
• Make to order
• Assemble to order
• Make to stock

Question 7

Moving CODP up-/downstream

Answer 7

upstream:
+ customer lead time
- inventory cost

downstream:
+ inventory cost
- customer lead time

Question 8

Operations Strategy Matrix: Competitive Objectives (5)

Answer 8

• Quality
• Speed
• Dependability
• Flexibility
• Cost

Question 9

Operations Strategy Matrix: Decision Areas (4)

Answer 9

• Capacity
• Supply Network
• Process Technology
• Development and Organization

Question 10

Operations Strategy Matrix: Evaluation Criteria (3)

Answer 10

• Coherence (horizontal)
• Correspondence (vertical)
• Comprehensiveness (holistic)

Question 11

RBV (4)

Answer 11

• Managerial framework on gaining competitive advantages
• Focus: inherent core capabilities
• Derives: decision areas
• Above average performance: result of inherent operational resources

Question 12

PV (4)

Answer 12

• Managerial framework on gaining competitive advantages
• Focus: Market positioning
• Derives: performance objectives
• Above average performance: result of competitive positioning

Question 13

Modular vs. Integral architecture

Answer 13

Modular: each functional element is linked to one physical element

Integral: each functional element is executed by a combination of physical elements

Question 14

No vs. chaining vs. full flexibility

Answer 14

No flexibility:
+ lower cost

Full flexibility:
+ better resource utilization (and higher expected sales)

Chaining combines the two

Question 15

Value of flexibility

Answer 15

• Most valuable when capacity = expected demand
• least valuable when capacity is very high or very low compared to expected demand
• Add flexibility or capacity, whichever is cheaper

Question 16

Fisher Matrix

Answer 16

• Match demand uncertainty and supply uncertainty
• Functional products -> efficient supply chain
• Innovative products -> agile supply chain

Question 17

Lean: why holisticly?

Answer 17

• Interrelations betweeen areas/functions
• cannot implement individually
• zero inventory -> batch size 1 -> zero set-up -> zero breakdown

Question 18

Strategy Cascading (3)

Answer 18

• Cascade targets downwards in target -> action -> target cycle
• bottom-up changes & adaptations
• horizontal coordination on each level

Question 19

Learning model matrix

Answer 19

Conceptual Learning vs Operational Learning

• Fire fighting
• Unvalidated theories and artisan skills
• operationally validated theories

Question 20

Creative benchmarking steps (3)

Answer 20

1. identify what to improve via benchmarking
2. Determine performance measure
3. Provide non-competitive benchmark example (e.g. Ford and Slaughterhouse lines)