CIPS L4M6 - Supplier Relationships

Explanation

Adversarial and Arm's Length relationships have low levels of trust. Single Source, Partnership and Outsourcing require high level of trust. See p.5 for the Supplier Relationship Spectrum

Shortening product life cycles require close collaboration and innovation between buyer and supplier to stay competitive. Partnership sourcing provides shared development, reduced lead times, and improved responsiveness. Stable markets or falling costs do not justify partnerships; they are best suited for high-risk, fast-changing environments.

Explanation

In an oliogopy, supplier power is strong. Sometimes regulators are required in the market to prevent the group of suppliers conspiring together to artificially increase prices. See p.40 for more information on Oligopy markets.

Partnerships provide access to local market knowledge, enable shared investments, and mitigate risks associated with relocation. These advantages outweigh concerns that can be managed through strong contracts and confidentiality agreements.

For partnerships to succeed, both buyer and supplier must see significant value in the relationship. High spend indicates strategic importance, ensuring mutual commitment. If the buyer is a core customer for the supplier, and has a high spend, partnership sourcing is mutually beneficial.

Explanation

This is a threat of a new entrant. The competitor has now entered the washing machine market and is competing directly with you. This is not a threat of substitution as it is the same product. A substitution would be if they invented a new product that washed clothes and people started buying this instead of washing machines. There are many questions in the exam on Porter's 5 Forces - see p. 39

Explanation

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

Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) offers several advantages to buyers:

Shared expertise for problem solving: Engaging suppliers early allows for collaborative problem-solving, leveraging the supplier's specialized knowledge to enhance product development.

Improved understanding of seller capabilities: Early engagement provides insights into the supplier's capabilities, facilitating better alignment with project requirements.

Lower development costs: Collaborative efforts in the early stages can lead to cost savings by identifying efficiencies and reducing the need for later-stage modifications.

These benefits are highlighted in the CIPS Intelligence Hub:

"ESI can bring significant benefits to your organisation, due to the involvement of suppliers in the initial stages of product development... Here are some additional benefits that your organisation will see when adopting ESI... Helps to reduce cost... Integrates supplier capabilities in the manufacturers supply chain..."

— CIPS Intelligence Hub: Early Supplier Involvement

Explanation

The Handfield ESI model is on p.98 and comprises of Black Box, Grey Box, White Box and None. Therefore Red and Blue can be automatically discounted. The correct answer is White Box as the definition given is correct. Grey Box is a formalised supplier integration; joint development activity between buyer and supplier. I have no idea why Handfield calls his system after coloured boxes- but it’s only briefly mentioned in the study guide and is not likely to be a big topic in the exam.

Explanation

This QUESTION NO: refers to Porter's Value Chain (p.35). There's a couple of questions on this in the exam so try to learn it. Primary activities are; inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, after sales- service