Supplier Relationships Questions and Answers
A partnership relationship can be described as any relationship between a buyer and supplier where there is a good level of communication and both parties are happy with each other’s performance. Is this statement TRUE?
An IT company is developing and launching a new product to the market. The project requires experts from different divisions of the business. What type of team should run this project?
What is value mapping?
Which of the following documents can be used at the selection stage of a tender process to ensure that short listed bidders meet the requirements of the buying organisation? Select TWO.
A university based in Europe has an objective to increase the number of students coming from the United States of America (USA). The university appoints a consultant with specialist knowledge of the USA market and has issued them with a performance-based specification. Which of the following is a characteristic of a performance specification?
The Queen Victoria is a traditional British pub which serves a range of alcoholic beverages. It has a partnership relationship with a local brewery which supplies several types of beer and cider. Logistics is a key concern for the Queen Victoria as deliveries must be made when there is room in the cellar to store the barrels of beer and cider. In what ways could the logistics risk be reduced?
A printing company is seeking to start developing a digital solution for its customers. They will need to outsource this element of the business as it is not an area they have worked in. What would be the most effective way for them to approach the market for a digital partner?
Barry is a procurement manager at Sea Biscuits, a company which manufactures biscuits in the shape of dolphins and starfish. He works in an office that orders stationary regularly for its 100 person workforce. Stationary is a low-spend category item and Barry often orders stationary from different suppliers based on which supplier can provide the item the cheapest at that point in time. According to the Kraljic matrix, what type of suppliers provides stationary to Barry?
What is the correct order of the stages of team development?
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) include items such as copywrite and trademarks. A buyer is considering entering into a partnership with their supplier to create a new product which will be released in two years’ time. Should IPR be included into a contract between partners?
Partnership sourcing is often considered a ‘high-risk’ strategy for a buyer. Which of the following is not a risk generally associated with partnership sourcing?
Which of the following is not a stage in the relationship life-cycle?
Which of the following is not a type of tender process used in the Public Sector?
Rachel and Jacky work in the procurement department of Foddy Foods Ltd. They have been told by their CEO to build better relationships with strategic suppliers as this will create value for money for the company. In what ways can value for money be achieved by building strong relationships with suppliers? Select TWO.
What is collaborative inertia?
Which of the following are examples of ways in which businesses can add value? Select THREE that apply.
A low level of trust between parties can often lead to partnership relationships being unsuccessful and failing. Which of the following supports the protection of commercially sensitive information between both parties and can help to retain trust?
A 'restricted market' is likely to arise when the entry costs for new suppliers are prohibitively high, and levels of market profitability amongst existing suppliers may be relatively low. Is this a true statement?
Within a supplier's terms and conditions, they have a 'mutual termination for convenience' clause, which requires either party to provide 30 days' notice. Before the buyer signed the agreement, a procurement colleague recommended that the buyer should request this be amended to 90 days' notice. Was this amendment the correct thing to do?
Which of the following are typical drivers for a partnership between the buyer and the supplier? Select the THREE that apply.
What are service credits?
A large office orders weekly from a stationery supplier. The items are low cost and if the delivery is a day late it does not affect the running of the office. Where would this supplier be positioned in a supplier matrix?
National Hospital Trust (NHT) has entered into a partnership relationship with a major facilities management provider. The two organizations have agreed on the approach to undertake regular reviews and audits. The audit approach will include which of the following?
What is the correct order for the 5 stages of team development?
Tim manages the procurement department at a large retailer. He wants to ensure that his team are achieving value for money in their procurement activities. Which of the following should Tim set up?
A buyer has a requirement to purchase 1,000 widgets for a manufacturing company. The widgets are critical for the next stage of the manufacturing process. What would be the key selection criterion for this buyer?
At what stage of the relationship cycle could you use Carter's 10 Cs?
Which of the following statements is an advantage to the buyer of early supplier involvement? Select the THREE that apply.
A low-cost fashion retailer based in Europe is looking at adding value in their procurement activities. The retailer buys clothing for resale with a very small profit margin applied, relying on volume sales to make a profit. Which of the following added-value approaches will be the most critical for the procurement team of the retailer to focus on with their supply chain?
Sandra is a buyer for a large supermarket and has been increasing unhappy with the performance of a long-term supplier of bananas. Over time the deliveries have become unreliable and this has had impacts on the supermarket’s profitability. What should Sandra do first?
Which of the following is a characteristic of a traditional contracting agreement?
Which of the following are advantages for the buyer of entering into a partnership? Select TWO.
A confectionery company has a portfolio of different items to sell. Their most popular product is the chocolate brownie cake, but they have begun to trial sales of cereal bars, granola cereal, and chewing gum. As a high-quality producer in a competitive market, the company requires effective supplier sourcing arrangements. Which ONE of the following product lines would be the most suitable for partnership sourcing?
A competitor develops an alternative type of vacuum cleaner to one produced by your organization. Is this an example of the threat of substitutes, one of the five forces of competition described by competitive forces theory?
Is it correct to suggest that the sole objective of partnership sourcing is to achieve the lowest acquisition cost?
A competitive advantage can be gained by doing what?
An automotive company has hired Tom as the procurement manager. Tom is to manage a team of two people who have worked in the department for a number of years. Conflict exists between the two members of staff due to an overlap of responsibilities. Which of the following processes would be most appropriate for Tom to use to reduce this conflict?
Which of the following are examples of internal stakeholders of a manufacturing repair organisation? Select TWO that apply.
In the public sector, there are many sources of information that a buyer can use to identify a suitable supplier. Which of the following could be used? Select THREE
A large construction group has a critical contract with a brick supplier. This represents high-value spend and the contract has a five-year duration. What type of commercial relationship would be the most appropriate?
Which circumstances make a buyer more attractive to the supplier?
A supermarket is struggling with sales and has done an analysis on its competitors. It has discovered that it has two major competitors; one provides groceries at a much cheaper price and another that provides only organic products. The supermarket has decided that it wants to continue providing groceries to a wide target audience but that it will compete by offering superior customer service. What is the supermarket's source of competitive advantage?
Price fluctuations can affect profitability. Is this statement correct?
Which of the following are recognised organisational culture types? Select THREE
Which of the following factors are considered when using the Kraljic Model to determine the kind of supply relationships and sourcing approaches for a category of items? Select TWO that apply.
Gabriel is a procurement manager who wishes to explore a new avenue to procure products for his company. His manager has told him that he should invite internal stakeholders to a meeting to get their feedback. Who should Gabriel invite? Select THREE.
The executive board of a manufacturing company is requesting support from the procurement team because the company needs to improve its levels of profitability. After segmenting the overall spend by value and risk of supply, the senior buyer for the company is planning to undertake a cost modeling activity. This will be undertaken with a cross-organizational team of internal stakeholders and key strategic suppliers. What would be the buyer's initial objective from the cost modeling activity?
A partnership between a software development company and a software supplier has recently been created. In order for the partnership to be successful, what is a critical action to take in the early stages of their relationship?
Which of the following are elements of a business that can develop a company's competitive advantage? Select THREE.
A company is relocating its manufacturing base to a low-cost country and is considering a partnership with a local supplier for its key components rather than a tender process. Although there are some concerns regarding confidentiality and component competitiveness, the procurement director is recommending a partnership strategy to the board of directors. The recommendation is based on a range of advantages including, but not limited to, gaining local market knowledge. Is this a valid recommendation?
Which of the following documents would you expect a supplier to submit as part of a Request for Proposal? Select THREE
Which of the following macro-environmental factors can affect supply chains?
Lion Manufacturing is about to enter into a partnership with Penguin Logistics, who will provide delivery to and from Lion Manufacturing's factories and warehouses. In this relationship, what type of negotiation strategy should Lion manufacturing use?
Marcus is an account manager for a company that sells maintenance spares for air conditioning units. He has a customer who persistently pays late, is very demanding in terms of constant requests, and the profit margin on the account is minimal. If Marcus were to use a supplier preferencing model to map this customer, what category would he place them into?
Togo Bongos is a manufacturer of percussion instruments, in particular of bongo drums. It requires electricity to run its factories and this is a major factor of cost impact. There are lots of suppliers of electricity in the market and there is no switching costs if Togo Bongos wanted to switch suppliers. What type of supplier is Togo Bongo's electricity supplier?
You work at XYZ manufacturers and a competitor has just released a rival washing machine to the product that you make. This model is proving popular with customers. What competitive force is at play?
Canadian Office Furniture Manufacturing Ltd (COFM) was trying to enter the Australian market, but without any success. The main issue is that the Australian government supports local manufacturers. COFM has successfully bid to acquire an Australian office furniture manufacturer. Which of the following benefits will COFM achieve by the acquisition?
Accessing the restricted local market
Removing the government support for local manufacturers
Decreasing the competition between local manufacturers
Improving its knowledge of the local market
Which of the following is a stage in the relationship lifecycle?
The CEO of a business has asked his procurement manager to source new machinery for the factory. This machinery will help create a new line of products which will give the company a competitive edge. The CEO is heavily invested in this procurement activity as profits have been lower than expected this year and this new line of products could help increase profitability. How should the procurement manager include the CEO in the procurement activity?
Products or services that are more suitable for partnership sourcing match which of the following criteria?
A supplier wishes to develop a new blood collection system for healthcare but needs to work with a clinical expert to develop the device. Why would a partnership be the best approach?
Mandy is looking to source windows and doors for a new build apartment block. She has done some initial research and has discovered that there are many suppliers in the marketplace that can supply the items she needs. As it is a high-value project she is thinking of running a formal tender. What should be Mandy’s first step?
Grey Stone Memorial Hospital is a private medical facility which has an idea for a vaccine to a deadly disease, but does not have the capacity to make the vaccine itself. It is considering partnering with a well-known pharmaceutical company in order to bring the vaccine to market. What is the biggest risk to Grey Stone?
According to Mendelow, there are four ways stakeholders can be managed, depending on the amount of power they have, and how interested they are in your project. What are these four categories?
