Supply Chain Management Technology 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which cloud deployment model gives a company exclusive use of infrastructure while still being hosted off-premises by a third-party provider?
- Public cloud
- Private cloud (Correct answer)
- Hybrid cloud
- Community cloud
Correct answer: Private cloud
A private cloud provides dedicated infrastructure managed externally, offering stronger data isolation than a public cloud.
Question 2: What supply chain problem does autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) primarily solve in a fulfillment center?
- Demand forecasting accuracy
- Supplier lead-time variability
- Labor-intensive pick-and-transport travel time (Correct answer)
- Inbound freight scheduling
Correct answer: Labor-intensive pick-and-transport travel time
AMRs navigate warehouses autonomously to bring goods to pickers, dramatically cutting the walking distance workers cover each shift.
Question 3: In the context of supply chain cybersecurity, what is a 'supply chain attack'?
- A ransomware attack on a logistics company's servers
- Compromising a trusted software vendor or supplier to gain access to downstream customers (Correct answer)
- Denial-of-service attacks on port authority systems
- Physical theft of goods in transit
Correct answer: Compromising a trusted software vendor or supplier to gain access to downstream customers
A supply chain attack targets a less-secured vendor in the ecosystem to infiltrate more secure downstream organizations through trusted channels.
Question 4: Which technology enables a forklift operator to see digital overlay information — such as bin locations and weight limits — while looking through a headset in the warehouse?
- Virtual reality (VR)
- Augmented reality (AR) (Correct answer)
- LiDAR scanning
- RFID handheld readers
Correct answer: Augmented reality (AR)
Augmented reality overlays digital data onto the real-world view, helping workers navigate and verify tasks without looking away from their work.
Question 5: What does 'API-first integration' mean when connecting a WMS to an e-commerce platform?
- The WMS must be rebuilt from scratch for each new platform
- Integration is achieved through standardized application programming interfaces without custom code per system (Correct answer)
- Data is exchanged via emailed spreadsheets automatically
- The platforms share a single physical server
Correct answer: Integration is achieved through standardized application programming interfaces without custom code per system
API-first integration uses published interfaces so systems can exchange data in real time without bespoke middleware for each connection.
Question 6: A supply chain team uses a control tower dashboard that aggregates data from carriers, suppliers, and warehouses in real time. What is the primary benefit?
- Eliminating the need for safety stock entirely
- Providing end-to-end visibility so disruptions can be detected and acted upon quickly (Correct answer)
- Replacing the ERP system
- Automating all procurement decisions
Correct answer: Providing end-to-end visibility so disruptions can be detected and acted upon quickly
A supply chain control tower gives planners a unified view of the entire network, enabling faster identification and response to exceptions.
Question 7: Which data format is most widely used for exchanging supply chain documents (purchase orders, invoices) via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)?
- XML
- JSON
- ANSI X12 or EDIFACT fixed-format segments (Correct answer)
- CSV
Correct answer: ANSI X12 or EDIFACT fixed-format segments
Traditional EDI relies on ANSI X12 (common in North America) or EDIFACT (international) structured message formats, not XML or JSON.
Supply Chain Management Technology 3
Which cloud deployment model gives a company exclusive use of infrastructure while still being hosted off-premises by a third-party provider?