FREE Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Internal Operations and Inventory Questions and Answers

Question 1

A manufacturing company uses a planning system to determine the quantity and timing for acquiring dependent demand items, such as raw materials and subassemblies, needed to create its finished goods. The system uses the Master Production Schedule (MPS) as a primary input. Which system is being described?

Accepted Answer

Material Requirements Planning (MRP)

Answer

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is the system used to manage inventory for dependent demand items. It takes the Master Production Schedule (MPS) for end products and 'explodes' it into a detailed schedule for the raw materials and components required, ensuring they are available when needed for production.

Question 2

A company is implementing a Lean manufacturing strategy focused on reducing waste. A team observes that operators are frequently walking long distances to retrieve tools and parts, which does not add value to the product. According to the seven wastes (Muda), which type of waste does this represent?

Accepted Answer

Motion

Answer

Unnecessary motion refers to the movement of people or equipment that does not add value to the product. In this scenario, operators walking to get tools is a classic example of wasted motion. Transportation waste, by contrast, refers to the unnecessary movement of the product or materials themselves.

Question 3

A company wants to decrease its total annual inventory costs. An analyst notes that by increasing the size of each purchase order, the company can reduce the total number of orders placed per year. Which of the following statements correctly describes the trade-off involved in this decision?

Accepted Answer

Increasing the order size will decrease total ordering costs but increase total carrying costs.

Answer

This question describes the fundamental trade-off in the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model. Placing larger, less frequent orders reduces the annual cost associated with placing orders (ordering costs). However, larger orders result in higher average inventory levels, which increases the annual cost of holding or storing that inventory (carrying costs).

Question 4

In a competitive market for consumer electronics, features such as a high-resolution screen and a minimum one-year warranty are considered standard. However, a brand's ability to offer a significantly longer battery life than its competitors consistently results in higher sales. In this context, the longer battery life serves as what?

Accepted Answer

An order winner

Answer

An order winner is a criterion that differentiates the products or services of one firm from those of another, ultimately winning the customer's business. In this case, the standard features (screen, warranty) are order qualifiers—the minimum requirements to be considered by the customer. The superior battery life is the differentiating feature that wins the sale.

Question 5

Which of the following is the primary function of a Master Production Schedule (MPS)?

Accepted Answer

To state the specific quantities of end products that a company plans to build in a given time period.

Answer

The Master Production Schedule (MPS) is a formal plan that specifies the quantity of each finished product (end item) to be produced and when it will be produced. It disaggregates the aggregate production plan and serves as the primary input for the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system. It is a statement of what will be built, not a forecast of demand.

Certified Supply Chain Professional CSCP Practice Practice Test

Certified Supply Chain Professional CSCP Practice Practice Test

FREE Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Internal Operations and Inventory Questions and Answers