A 'synergy' within a partnership can lead to what?
Answer : D
The correct answer is 'greater creativity'. A synergy is the concept that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts. P.160
Achieving value for money can often be described as the three Es? What are these?
Answer : D
The three Es are; Effectiveness, Efficiency and Economy. Sometimes a 4th E is added which is Equity (but this is mainly for the public sector).
Jenny is a procurement manager who works in the public sector. She has been charged with organising a tender to source new Xray machines for a hospital and to ensure that they receive 'value for money'. Which of the following should Jenny consider when drafting her ITT?
Answer : C
Jenny should consider whole life costing. Ensuring value for money means considering a combination of price and quality throughout the lifetime of the product. See p.65 for more on 'Achieving Value for Money'
Which of the following macro-environmental factors can affect supply chains?
Answer : C
STEEPLE is what is used to analyse the macro-environment; the factors are; social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legislative and ethical. Details of this can be found on p.43-44. Note in the exam they won't necessarily be given in this order.
Brian Air is a company that is trying to break into the air transport market. Which of the following could be barriers to entry for Brian Air? Select THREE
Answer : A, B, C
Barriers to entry are economies of scale (in the air travel industry you can't just start off small and grow), access to capital (you need to already have a lot of money to buy airplanes) and licences and permits (you need to ensure you have the correct licences to fly planes). These are listed on p.41. Other barriers include; strong brand identity already dominant in the market, high switching costs for buyers, access to distribution networks and government policy.
Which of the following statements are true of a market place which is considered a 'perfect competition'? Select TWO.
Answer : A, C
In a 'perfect competition' there are no barriers to entry or exit, and competition is at its highest possible level. For more information on different types of market see p.40
In the 1990s a company spent a lot of time and money developing a device that you could carry around that could play CDs. The product spent a long time in development but when it was released the sales figures were very disappointing. This was in part due to the fact another product was released at a similar time which had much more developed technology and could play music without the cumbersome size of a portable CD player. Which of the following did the company not consider when developing the product?
Answer : A
The portable CD player has been replaced with a substitute product. This threat wasn't considered by the company and this resulted in poor sales. There are many questions in the exam on Porter's 5 Forces - see p. 39