Index:

1. Operations Management Overview

2. Inventory Management

3. Warehousing

4. Six Sigma

5. Lean Management

6. Supply Chain Management

7. Jargons

8. Cases
Operations Management Overview
Production and Operations Management (POM) is defined as the process which transforms the
inputs/resources of an organization into final goods (or services) through a set of defined, controlled,
and repeatable policies, that when distributed, meet the needs of customers. The process of
transforming Input to Output is often referred to as the “Conversion Process”. There are several
different methods of handling the conversion or production process – Job, Batch, Flow and Group.

Production and operations management incorporates many tasks that are independent, but which
can be grouped under five main headings: Product, Plant, Process, Program and People.

Types of Production Methods-

1. Job Production:

• With Job production, the complete task is handled by a single worker or group of workers. Jobs
can be small-scale / low technology as well as complex / high technology.
• Low technology jobs: here the organization of production is extremely simple, with the required
skills and equipment easily obtainable. This method enables customer’s specific requirements to
be included, often as the job progresses. Examples include hairdressers, tailoring
• High technology jobs: here technology jobs involve much greater complexity – and therefore
present greater management challenge. The important ingredient in high-technology job
production is project management, or project control. The essential features of good project
control for a job are:
o Clear definitions of objectives- how should the job progress (milestones, dates, stages)
o Decision-making process- how are decisions taking about the needs of each process in the
job, labour and other resources.
Examples of high technology / complex jobs: film production; large construction projects (e.g., the
Millennium Dome)
2. Batch Production:

• As businesses grow and production volumes increase, it is not unusual to see the production
process organized so that "Batch methods" can be used.
• Batch methods require that the work for any task is divided into parts or operations. Each
operation is completed through the whole batch before the next operation is performed.
• By using the batch method, it is possible to achieve specialization of labour, low Capital
expenditure through careful planning (to ensure that production equipment is not idle).
• This technique is probably the most used method for organising manufacture. A good example
is the production of electronic instruments.
• The main aims of the batch method are to: Concentrate skills (specialization); and achieve high
equipment utilization
• Problems with this type of production method are:
o There is a high probability of poor workflow, particularly if the batches are not of the
optimal size or if there is a significant difference in productivity by each operation in the
process.
o Batch methods often result in the build-up of significant "work in progress" or stocks (i.e.
completed batches waiting for their turn to be worked on in the next operation).

3. Flow/Continuous Production:

• Flow methods are similar to batch methods except that the problem of rest/idle
production/batch queuing is eliminated. Flow has been defined as a "method of production
organization where the task is worked on continuously or where the processing of material is
continuous and progressive"
• The aims of flow methods are: Improved work & material flow Reduced need for labour skills
Added value / completed work faster.
• Flow methods mean that as work on a task at a particular stage is complete, it must be passed
directly to the next stage for processing without waiting for the remaining tasks in the "batch".
• When it arrives at the next stage, work must start immediately on the next process.
• For the flow to be smooth, the times that each task requires on each stage must be of equal length
and there should be no movement off the flow production line. In theory, therefore, any fault or
error at a particular stage.
• In order that flow methods can work well, several requirements must be met:
o There must be substantially constant demand
o The product and/or production tasks must be standardized
o Materials used in production must be as per specification and delivered on time
o Each operation in the production flow must be carefully defined -and recorded in detail
o The output from each stage of the flow must conform to quality standards
Inventory Management
Inventory is the material in stock or idle resource of an
enterprise. Four types of inventories are: Raw Materials;
Work-in-progress (WIP) inventory; Finished Goods; and
Maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) goods and
packaging materials for e-commerce.

Inventory management refers to the process of ordering,

storing and using a company’s inventory. This includes the
management of raw materials, components and finished
products, as well as warehousing and processing such
items. For companies with complex supply chains and
manufacturing process, balancing the risks of inventory
gluts and shortages is especially difficult. Basically it deals
with 2 main problems- (Order Level) When should an order be placed? And (Order Quantity) How
much should be ordered?

Inventory management is required because it eliminates the possibility of duplicate ordering. It helps
in efficient utilization of working capital. Helps in minimizing loss due to deterioration, obsolescence
damage and pilferage. It helps improve customer relations by delivering goods on time. It leads to
uninterrupted production hence no stock out.

Types of Inventory Management-

1. ABC Classification:
• This technique divides inventory into three categories A, B & C based on their annual consumption
value.
• It is also known as Selective Inventory Control Method (SIM).
• This method is a means of categorizing inventory items according to the potential amount to be
controlled.
• ABC analysis has universal application for fields requiring selective control.
• Pareto Rule (80-20) applies for inventory. That is, 80% of the costs are locked up in 20% of the
items. This is fortuitous because then we need to exercise close control on only these 20% items.
• A items: if they account for 70-80% of dollar usage value and only 15-20% of the number of items
• C items: if they account for 5-15% of dollar usage value, but as much as 50-60% of the number of
items.
• B items: items that fall between A and C items.

Advantages:

• Helps to exercise selective control

• Helps to point out obsolete stocks easily
• Helps better planning of inventory control
• Provides sound basis for allocation of funds & human resources
Disadvantages:
• Proper standardization & codification of inventory items needed
• Considers only money value of items & neglects the importance of items for production process
• Periodic review becomes difficult
2. FSN Classification (Fast, Slow, Non-moving):

• Classification is based on the pattern of issues from stores & is useful in controlling obsolescence.
• Date of receipt or last date of issue, whichever is later, is taken to determine the no. of months
which have lapsed since the last transaction.
• The items are usually grouped in periods of 12 months.
• Fast moving: decentralized stocking
• Slow moving: centralized stocking
• Non-moving: disposal
• It helps to avoid investments in non moving or slow items. It is also useful in facilitating timely
control. For analysis, the issues of items in past two or three years are considered.
• If there are no issues of an item during the period, it is “N” item.
• Then up to certain limit, say 10-15 issues in the period, the item is “S” item
• The items exceeding such limit of no. of issues during the period are “F” items.
• The period of consideration & the limiting number of issues vary from organization to
organization.

3. VED Classification (Vital Essential and Desirable):

VED classification is based on the criticality of the inventories. It is useful in capital intensive industries,
transport industries, etc.

• Vital items -Its shortage may cause havoc & stop the work in organization. They are stocked
adequately to ensure smooth operation.
• Essential items -If these items are not available, the plant does not stop; but the efficiency of
operations is adversely affected due to expediting expenses. They should be sufficiently stocked
to ensure regular flow of work.
• Desirable items -Its non availability does not stop the work because they can be easily purchased
from the market as & when needed. They may be stocked very low or not stocked.
Warehousing
We often define warehousing as the storage of goods. Broadly interpreted, this definition includes a
wide spectrum of facilities and locations that provide warehousing, including the storage of iron ore
in open fields; the storage of finished goods in the production facility; and the storage of raw materials,
industrial goods, and finished goods while they are in transport.

Some activities of warehouse:

1. Inbound Logistics System: Inbound logistics is the way materials and other goods are brought
into a company. This process includes the steps to order, receive, store, transport and manage
incoming supplies.
2. Outbound Logistics System: Outbound logistics focuses on the demand side of the supply-demand
equation. The process involves storing and moving goods to the final destination or end customer.
The stages include warehouse and storage, distribution, order fulfilment, packing, shipping, last-
mile delivery and customer service related to delivery.
3. Product Mixing: When customers buy products manufactured by different plants. Once the
products are received at the warehouse from several production plants, they are mixed as per the
customer requirement in the warehouse and distributed.

4. Supply Mixing: When plants procure their raw materials from various vendors

5. Cross Docking: It was popularized by Wal-Mart. In Cross Docking, warehouses function as

inventory coordination points rather than as inventory storage points. Goods arriving at
warehouses from the manufacturer are transferred to vehicles serving the stores and are
delivered to the stores as rapidly as possible. Boxes however, first pass through a sortation system.
Goods spend very little time in storage at the warehouse. This reduces inventory cost and reduces
lead times.
Some issues with Cross-Docking are:
o Require a significant start up investment and are difficult to manage
o Supply chain partners must be linked with advanced information systems for coordination
o A fast and responsive transportation system is necessary
o Forecasts are critical, necessitating the sharing of information
o Effective only for large distribution systems
o Sufficient volume every day to allow shipments of fully loaded trucks from the suppliers
to the warehouses
o Sufficient demand at retail outlets to receive full truckload quantities

Basic Warehouse Operations-

Storage Strategies

1. Randomized storage:
o Randomized, or floating slot, storage place items in the closest available slot bin or rack
o Products are then retrieved on a first in, first out (FIFO) basis
o This approach maximizes space utilization, although it requires longer travel times
between order picking locations
o Randomized systems often employ a computerized automatic storage and retrieval
systems (AS/RS), which minimizes labor and handling costs
2. Dedicated storage:
o In dedicated, or fixed slot, storage, products are stored in permanent locations within a
warehouse
o Various location criteria commonly used to locate stock : popularity , unit size, cube,
compatibility, complementarity, and so on
3. Unit size:
o The unit size criterion that small size items be located near the shipping area and larger
size items be placed farther away from the shipping area
o By locating smaller size items near the shipping area, more items can be stored near the
shipping area, which reduces the order picker travel distance and order picking time
4. Compatibility:
o Compatibility refers to how well products may be stored together
o For example , pharmaceuticals cannot be stored with bagged agricultural chemicals
5. Popularity:
o The popularity criterion locates popular items near the shipping area and the unpopular
items always from the shipping
o By this method, the order pickers travel a shorter distance to pick the most popular items
being ordered, thereby reducing the time required to pick orders
6. Complementarity:
o Complementarity refers to how often products are ordered together and therefore stored
together
o Computer disk drives, CD ROMs, and monitors; pens and pencils; and desks and chairs are
examples of complementarity products that usually stored close to each order
Basic Warehouse Decisions-
1. Public vs Private Warehouses:

o The public warehouse is all variable cost. As the throughput volume in the warehouse
increase, the company has to rent space. This space is available at a specific charge per
square foot or per cubic foot.
o The private warehouse, on the other hand, has a fixed cost element, which we can attribute
to elements such as property taxes and depreciation in its cost structure. The variable
portion of the warehouse operating cost would usually increase more slowly than the cost
of the public warehouse because of the profit and the cost of marketing the public facility

Firm Characteristics Private Public

Throughput volume High Low
Demand variability Stable Fluctuating
Market density High Low
Special physical control Yes No
Customer service required High Low
Security requirements High Low
Multiple use needed Yes No

2. Number of Warehouses:
3. Centralized vs Decentralized:

Factor Centralized Decentralized

Sustainability Low High
Product value High Low
Purchase size Large Small
Special warehousing Yes No
Product line Diverse Limited
Customer service Low High

4. Warehouse Location Analysis:

o Quality and variety of transportation carriers servicing the site

o Quality and quantity of available labour
o Labour rates
o Tax structure
o Local government tax allowances
o Cost of money locally
o Cost and quality of industrial land
o Cost and availability of utilities
o Potential for expansion
o Costs of construction
o Nature of the community environment
Six Sigma
What is Six Sigma?
• A metric that demonstrates quality levels at 99.99967 per cent performance for processes.
• It is a benchmark for product and process capability on a quality basis.
• A practical application of statistical ‘tools’ to help define, measure, analyse, improve, and control
the processes.
• A commitment to customers to offer the highest quality, reduced cost products.
• Main focus of Six Sigma are Reduce Variation, Reduce Defect, Delighting Customer, Reduce Cost,
Reduce Cycle Time.
• Six sigma focuses on Voice of Customer
• It focuses on data and fact-based decision

Origin of Six Sigma:

Motorola started Six Sigma approach to achieve it’s one of the top ten corporate goals of improving
the quality by ten times within five years in 1981. The term “Six Sigma” was coined by Bill Smith, an
engineer with Motorola.

Sigma Levels and PPM:

Sigma Level Part per Million (PPM)

2σ 3,08,000
3σ 66,800
4σ 6,210
5σ 230
6σ 3.4
*Mumbai Dubbawallas are operating at more than Six Sigma Level

Kano Model:
• Kano model helps to describe which needs, if fulfilled contribute to customer dissatisfaction
neutrality or delight
• Its purpose is to identify & prioritize the full range of the customers’ needs, which is an
important focus of Six Sigma
• Kano Model Identifies:
o Must be needs -Critical to customer expectation
o More is better –Critical to customer satisfaction
o Delighter –Converting wants to needs of the future

How to build a Kano Model:

• Gather sorted customer needs
• Classify the needs into 3 Categories: Must be, More the better, Delighters
• If there is insufficient data to enable the classification, collect addition data on VOC (Voice of
Customer)
• Prioritize the customer needs to develop the CTQ (Critical to Quality Characteristics)
Lean Management
Lean management focuses on eliminating the wastes in the system. Lean principles talk about 8
types of wastes:

1. Overproduction 5. Over-processing
2. Inventory 6. Waiting
3. Motion 7. Transport
4. Defects 8. Underutilization

*Source: https://haldanconsulting.com/the-8-wastes-of-lean/

To reduce wastes, management adopts 5 Lean principles:

1. Identify value
It is paramount to discover the actual or latent needs of the customer. Sometimes customers may not
know what they want or are unable to articulate it. This is especially common when it comes to novel
products or technologies. There are many techniques such as interviews, surveys, demographic
information, and web analytics that can help you decipher and discover what customers find valuable.
By using these qualitative and quantitative techniques you can uncover what customers want, how
they want the product or service to be delivered, and the price that they afford.

2. Map the value stream

The second Lean principle is identifying and mapping the value stream. In this step, the goal is to use
the customer’s value as a reference point and identify all the activities that contribute to these values.
Activities that do not add value to the end customer are considered waste. By reducing and eliminating
unnecessary processes or steps, you can ensure that customers are getting exactly what they want
while at the same time reducing the cost of producing that product or service.
3. Create a flow
After removing the wastes from the value stream, the following action is to ensure that the flow of
the remaining steps run smoothly without interruptions or delays. Some strategies for ensuring that
value-adding activities flow smoothly include breaking down steps, reconfiguring the production
steps, levelling out the workload, creating cross-functional departments, and training employees to
be multi-skilled and adaptive.

4. Establish Pull
Inventory is considered one of the biggest wastes in any production system. The goal of a pull-based
system is to limit inventory and work in process (WIP) items while ensuring that the requisite materials
and information are available for a smooth flow of work. In other words, a pull-based system allows
for Just-in-time delivery and manufacturing where products are created at the time that they are
needed and in just the quantities needed. Pull-based systems are always created from the needs of
the end customers. By following the value stream and working backwards through the production
system, you can ensure that the products produced will be able to satisfy the needs of customers.

5. Continuous Improvement
The final principle of lean management is the uncompromising and endless pursuit of perfection. By
improving iteratively and learning from their shortcoming each time, managers ensure that their
teams would perform significantly better in the future.

*Source: https://theleanway.net/The-Five-Principles-of-Lean
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all
processes that transform raw materials into final products. It involves the active streamlining of a
business's supply-side activities to maximize customer value and gain a competitive advantage in the
marketplace. Both material as well as information flow are parts of SCM.

The Bullwhip Effect:

The bullwhip effect refers to a scenario in which small changes in demand at the retail end of the
supply chain become amplified when moving up the supply chain from the retail end to the
manufacturing end.

This happens when a retailer changes how much of a good it orders from wholesalers based on a small
change in real or predicted demand for that good. Due to not having full information on the demand
shift, the wholesaler will increase its orders from the manufacturer by an even larger extent, and the
manufacturer, being even more removed will change its production by a still larger amount.

How to prevent or minimize Bullwhip effect:

First and foremost, they can ensure clear and consistent communications between companies up and
down the supply chain. This will help avoid temporary or localized shifts in supply from being
misinterpreted as broader than they are. Firms can also make sure to take a wider viewpoint when
making forecasts for demand to reduce the effect of any temporary or limited shifts. Finally,
companies can work to increase the speed at which they are able to respond to shifts in demand,
meaning that they can readjust more easily if they incorrectly assess demand. This also reduces the
need to overproduce or overorder to have a buffer in case of demand shifts.

*Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/scm.asp

Typical Distribution Channels involved in Supply Chains:

*Source: https://ufoodin.com/how-to-grow-your-business-on-ufoodin-as-a-finished-goods-
brand/
Jargons
• Pegging- In MRP and MPS, the capability to identify the sources of its gross requirements and/or
allocations for the given item. Pegging can be thought of as active where-used information.
• ABC Inventory Control- An inventory control approach based on the ABC classification. According
to this classification, the groups of items are placed in the decreasing order of annual dollar
volume (price multiplied by project volume) or some other criteria. This array is then split into
three classes, called A, B, and C. The A group usually represents 10% to 20% by number of items
and 50% to 70% by projected dollar volume. The next grouping, B, usually represents about 20%
of the items and about 20% of the dollar volume. The C class contains 60% to 70% of the items
and represents about 10% to 30% of the dollar volume. The ABC principle states that effort and
money can be saved through applying looser controls to the low-dollar-volume class items than
will be applied to high-dollar-volume class items. The ABC principle is applicable to inventories,
purchasing, sales, etc.
• Available Inventory- The on-hand inventory balance minus allocations, reservations, backorders,
and (usually) quantities held for quality problems. Often called beginning available balance.
• Safety stock- The level of inventory desired at any time to counterbalance the many uncertainties
met in a supply chain.
• Cycle count- An inventory verification method that uses periodic, scheduled counts of inventory
and associated locations to determine accuracy. Count schemes may be designed based on usage
volume, all parts in specific warehouse rows, or other methods and normally involve the use of
trained count personnel.
• WIP (Work in Process)- The inventory under assembly in an assembly part.
• Backlog- All the customer orders received but not yet shipped. Sometimes referred to as open
orders or the order board.
• Bill of Material (BOM)- A listing of all the subassemblies, intermediates, parts, and raw materials
that go into a parent assembly showing the quantity of each required to make an assembly. It is
used in conjunction with the master production schedule to determine the items for which
purchase requisitions and production orders must be released.
• Carrying cost- The cost of holding inventory, usually defined as a percentage of the dollar value of
inventory per unit of time (generally one year). Carrying cost depends mainly on the cost of capital
invested as well as such costs of maintaining the inventory as taxes and insurance, obsolescence,
spoilage, and space occupied. Such costs vary from 10% to 35%.
• Economic order quantity (EOQ)- A type of fixed-order-quantity model that determines the
amount of an item to be purchased or manufactured at one time.
• Aggregate planning- Sales, revenue, inventory and production planning done at total
organization, facility or family levels.
• Backorder- is a current or past due customer order (or line item) that cannot be shipped due to
lack of inventory availability. Customer agreements govern how backorders are handled (ship
when available, ship whole order only, cancel, etc.)
• Electronic data interchange (EDI)- The paperless (electronic) exchange of trading documents,
such as purchase orders, shipment authorizations, advanced shipment notices, and invoices, using
standardized document formats.
• Forecasting- The business function that attempts to predict sales and use of products so that they
can be purchased or manufactured in appropriate quantities in advance.
• Buffer- Stock positioning at a processing or usage point to allow for demand or process variations,
or to maintain continued operation of a constrained resource.
• Decoupling- The point in the supply chain which provides a buffer between differing input and
output rates (Creation of safety stock)
• Distribution requirements planning (DRP)- The function of determining the need to replenish
inventory at branch warehouses A time-phased order point approach is used where the planned
orders at the branch warehouse level are “exploded” via MRP logic to become gross requirements
on the supplying source. In the case of multilevel distribution networks, this explosion process can
continue down through the various levels of regional warehouses (master warehouse, factory
warehouse, etc.) and become input to the master production schedule.
• Continuous replenishment- A method typically used between retailers and distributors or
manufacturers that use point-of sale inventory and sales data to trigger automatic
replenishments, with the vendor assuming responsibility for initiation and fulfilment.
• Cross docking- A logistics activity that attempts to reduce costs and total lead time by breaking
down received items on the loading dock and immediately matching them with outgoing shipment
requirements, instead of stocking the items in warehouse locations and returning to pick for
orders at a later time.
• Cycle time- The total time required to complete a transformation from one status to another.
Total cycle time is composed of many elements, often broken into active (running or operating)
time and idle (queue or wait) time.
• Drop ship- Directing a vendor to send purchased material directly to a third party instead of
delivering to the owner’s facility for inspection or stocking.
• Fill rate- A customer order delivery performance measurement of the percentage of times line
item shipments met requested dates and quantities. Whole order shipments may be used instead
of individual line items for customers who require the entire order to be shipped complete.
• Vendor managed inventory (VMI)- The process by which the vendor manages the inventory od
its products in its distribution center is called VMI. The vendor receives stock information from
the customer and then calculates what should be shipped to maintain adequate inventory levels
at the retailer’s facility. It is the preferred method by which customers dump their inventory woes
on vendors.
• CPFR- Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is the sharing of forecast and
related business information among business partners in the supply chain to enable automatic
product replenishment.
• Bull whip effect- Bullwhip is a pervasive supply chain problem whereby order variability grows as
demand signals propagate upstream. Essentially, demand spikes as orders flow back from retailers
to distributor to original equipment manufacturers to tier-one suppliers, and so on.
• Continuous replenishment (CR)- A time-based strategy where the supplier eliminates the need
for replenishment orders by receiving daily transmission of retail sales or warehouse shipments
and then assuming responsibility for replenishing retail inventory in the required quantities,
colors, sizes, styles. The agreement to replenish is honored as a purchase commitment. The result
is a reduction in total logistics cost and an improvement in inventory velocity.
• Inventory pull system- System whereby a firm waits to produce products until customers demand
it
• Inventory push system- System whereby a firm produces then pushes product through the
channel without orders in hand. Here, production and inventory levels are guided by forecasted
or anticipated sales to customers.
• Inventory velocity- The speed of inventory moving through a facility during a given time, as
measure by turnover (annual dollar sales volume at cost / average dollar inventory investment)
• Efficient consumer response (ECR)- A demand driven replenishment system, common in the
grocery industry, designed to link all parties in the channel to create a massive flow-through
distribution network. The system is driven by time-phrased replenishment based on consumer
demand. The sharing of information allows the manufacturer or supplier to anticipate demand
and react to it. Instead of “waiting” for an order to arrive, they can initiate or manufacture product
based on point of sale information. The sharing of accurate, instantaneous data is essential to this
concept.
• Postponement- A cost reduction strategy that moves product differentiation nearer to the time
of purchase (and thereby reducing risk and uncertainty) by postponing changes to the form and
identity of a product or its inventory location to the last possible point in the supply chain.
• Reverse logistics- The process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-
effective flow of product back upstream for the purpose of source reduction/conservation,
recycling, substitution, and disposal
• Supply chain (value chain)- The alignment of firms that bring products or services to market.
• Vertically integrated- Where the same company owns several levels (echelons) of the supply chain
• Bonded- Storage of certain goods under charge of customs viz. customs seal until the import
duties are paid or until the goods are taken out of the country. Bonded warehouse (place where
goods can be placed under bond)
• Cost and freight (CFR)- “Cost, Insurance and Fright” means that the sellers has the same
obligations as under CFR but with the addition that he has to procure marine insurance against
the buyer’s risk of loss of or damage to the goods during the carriage.
• Detention charges- Charges levied on usage of equipment exceeding free time period as
stipulated in the pertinent inland rules and conditions.
• Frozen zone- Material, capacity committed to specific orders. No changes accepted in MPS as it
would lead to high cost.
• Slushy zone- Capacity and materials are partly committed. Any trade off can be taken care of
between marketing and production team.
• Liquid zone- any change can be made to the MPS as long as it is within the limit of liquid zone
decided by the production team.
• Seasonal Index = actual period demand / average demand of all periods i.e. deseasonalized
demand
• Deseasonalized demand = actual seasonal demand / seasonal index
• Average annual transit inventory = transit time in days * annual demand / 365
• Average cost of placing one order = (fixed cost / no. of orders) + variable cost
• Lot- It is the quantity produced together which shares same production cost and specifications
• Average lot size inventory = order quantity / 2
• Number of orders per year = annual demand / order quantity
• Annual ordering cost = no. of orders * costs per order
• Annual carrying cost = average inventory * unit cost * carrying cost
• Re-order point = (Average daily demand * lead time) + Safety stock
• 5S- Sort, straighten, shine, standardise, sustain
• Kanban- Helps in identifying reordering point, card system
• Kaizen- Continuous improvement in manufacturing, engineering and business improvement
process
• Just in time (JIT)- It is an inventory management method in which goods are received from
suppliers only as they are needed. It reduces lead times by reducing setup times, queue lengths,
and lot sizes.
Cases

1. Returns are increasing in your ecommerce company. Find out why and recommend probable
solution
2. Many cabs in Mumbai are getting cancelled. Find out why and recommend Solutions
3. In a manufacturing plant inventory is increasing. Find out why
4. In a manufacturing plant rejection rate is increasing. Find out why
5. An e-commerce giant is planning to launch offline stores. Find out how will it impact their supply
chains and recommend changes in supply chain
6. An ecommerce company wants to set up a warehouse in India. How would you go about it.
7. An ecommerce wants to start operations in India. How would you go about it.
8. An automobile OEM wants to open a new dealership in Kolkata. Tell us how to do it
9. A leading ecommerce firm is planning to organise a sale. Assess the different factors and how to
plan it (answer should include discounts to be given, supply chain changes, items to offer on
discounts)
10. A brick and mortar store is facing a decrease in profits. Find out why
11. Design a supply chain for eggs/bikes/food grains
12. No. of orders are falling on Swiggy. Find out why and what metrics should be used to assess the
performance of delivery boys
13. How to maximise profits for low priced SKU’s
14. A steel manufacturing company is facing an issue of low capacity utilization. Find out why and how
can they increase it
15. The company has noticed that a very old supplier in recent time has not performed very well in
terms of the quality of materials supplied. How will you handle the situation
16. Company have noticed that one of the vendor product is highly in demand but the vendor have
limited capacity to supply and because of which the product is often sold out. What should be the
company’s approach to solve the problem
17. You are a category manager in an apparel company and you have to forecast the demand for next
cycle. How will you do it
18. A company is planning to expand its business to a new city lets say a tier -2 city. Assess the business
potential and devise a plan
19. A client wants to establish a new e-commerce business related to online sales of home decor
items. Design a value chain for the client
20. An automobile company is heavily dependent on one of its supplier for components who is now
threatening them to cease the supply because of financial losses. How to handle the situation and
what should be the long term sourcing strategy of the company.
21. A product has huge inventory and is not selling. How would you tackle it? (Ecommerce
perspective)
22. Wall Clocks have the highest return rate. Why?
23. How would you reduce packaging cost?
24. There is an increase in the number of cases in which the Customers are not available at the
location when your delivery boy goes to deliver the package. What will you do?