Mixed Deck — All CPIM Topics Flashcards

What does 'throughput' represent in Theory of Constraints?

Answer: The rate at which the system generates money through sales

In TOC, throughput is the rate at which the system generates revenue through sales — it is revenue minus truly variable costs, not just production volume.

Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP) operates on which planning inputs?

Answer: Planned and released work orders from MRP and routing data

CRP uses MRP-generated planned and released orders along with routing data (operations, run times, setup times) to calculate detailed load on work centers.

What is 'collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment' (CPFR)?

Answer: A supply chain practice where trading partners jointly develop forecasts and replenishment plans

CPFR is a collaborative process in which retailers and suppliers share data and jointly create forecasts and replenishment plans to improve supply chain performance.

What does 'available-to-promise' (ATP) tell a sales representative?

Answer: The uncommitted supply that can be allocated to new customer orders

ATP is the quantity of supply not yet committed to customer orders, enabling accurate delivery promises.

What is the key principle behind 'vendor-managed inventory' (VMI)?

Answer: The supplier monitors the customer's inventory levels and takes responsibility for replenishment decisions

In VMI, the supplier has access to the customer's inventory data and is responsible for maintaining agreed-upon stock levels, reducing the customer's ordering burden and improving replenishment efficiency.

Which of the following calculations is a major component that is used with extrinsic forecasting?

Answer: An economic indicator

Extrinsic forecasting uses external data and factors to predict future demand, such as economic indicators, market trends, and competitor analysis. Therefore, there is no specific calculation that is a major component of extrinsic forecasting, as it depends on the specific data and factors being analyzed.

A supplier's 'on-time delivery' performance is measured at 85%. In a lean supply chain context, this performance level is:

Answer: Inadequate because JIT environments require near-perfect delivery reliability

Lean and JIT environments depend on highly reliable supplier delivery (typically 98%+) because minimal safety stock exists to buffer against unreliability.

In procurement, 'spend analysis' is used to:

Answer: Analyze purchasing data to identify savings opportunities, consolidation potential, and supplier performance patterns

Spend analysis systematically examines what an organization buys, from whom, and at what price to uncover consolidation opportunities, maverick spend, and strategic sourcing priorities.

In a Lean environment, what is the purpose of a Heijunka box?

Answer: To level production volume and mix over time

A Heijunka box is a visual scheduling tool that smooths production by sequencing work orders across time slots.

In MRP, 'explosion' refers to:

Answer: Calculating component requirements by multiplying parent requirements through all BOM levels

BOM explosion is the process of multiplying the parent item's gross requirement by component usage quantities at each BOM level to determine lower-level material needs.

A 'hedge' in master planning refers to:

Answer: Inventory or capacity built in anticipation of uncertain future demand or supply events

In CPIM, a hedge is planned inventory or capacity created to protect against uncertainty such as a possible strike, supply disruption, or demand surge.

Which performance metric measures the percentage of customer orders shipped complete and on time on the first attempt?

Answer: Perfect order fulfillment

Perfect order fulfillment tracks orders that are delivered complete, on time, undamaged, and with correct documentation.

In distribution requirements planning (DRP), what triggers a planned replenishment order at a field warehouse?

Answer: Projected inventory falling below the reorder point at that location

DRP generates planned orders when projected on-hand inventory at a distribution location is expected to fall below its safety stock or reorder point.

Which master scheduling input directly converts customer orders and forecasts into specific end-item production quantities?

Answer: Demand management process

Demand management consolidates forecasts and customer orders into the demand signal used to build the MPS.

Which supply chain strategy is BEST suited for a product with highly unpredictable demand and short life cycles?

Answer: Agile supply chain

Agile supply chains are designed to respond quickly to unpredictable demand and market volatility.

Input/output control in PAC is used to:

Answer: Manage work center queue lengths by comparing planned versus actual input and output rates

Input/output control monitors the work arriving at and leaving work centers to prevent queues from growing uncontrollably and to maintain planned flow.

Which approach to capacity strategy adds capacity in advance of projected demand to prevent lost sales?

Answer: Lead strategy

A lead capacity strategy proactively adds capacity before demand materializes, accepting higher short-term costs to avoid stockouts and capture market share.

Which of the subsequent industrial processes results in the production of a single item or a small batch of items?

Answer: Project manufacturing

The industrial process that produces a single unit or a small batch of units is known as job shop manufacturing.

What is the purpose of 'firm planned orders' in MRP?

Answer: To fix a planned order so MRP will not automatically change its date or quantity

A firm planned order is manually frozen by the planner to prevent MRP's automatic rescheduling logic from changing it, useful when the planner has knowledge MRP lacks.

Which forecasting method assigns greater weight to more recent data points?

Answer: Exponential smoothing

Exponential smoothing assigns exponentially decreasing weights to older observations, with the smoothing constant (alpha) controlling the emphasis on recent data.