OMGT 6213 Midterm
flow time
average time for a unit to move through the system. Time to complete all station
Hoosier Manufacturing operates a production shop that is designed to have the lowest unit production cost at an output rate of 100 units per hour. In the month of July, the company operated the production line for a total of 175 hours and produced 16,900 units of output. What was its capacity utilization rate for the month?
best operating level for a total of 175 hours = 175*100 = 17,500 Capacity utilization rate = 16,900/17,500 = 96.57%
Service capacity is more time-and location-dependent (than manufacturing capacity); it is subject to more volatile demand fluctuations, and utilization directly affects service quality. Also, unlike goods, services cannot be stored for later use produced 16,900 units of output. What was its capacity utilization rate for the month?
best operating level for a total of 175 hours = 175*100 = 17,500 Capacity utilization rate = 16,900/17,500 = 96.57%
Triple Bottom Line
relates to the economic, employee, and environmental impact of a firm's strategy.
branches
represent the paths through the decision tree, terminal nodes have an associated payoff
Sustainable business strategy
the firm's strategy describes how it will create and sustain value for its current shareholders. - Shareholders: individuals or companies that legally own one or more shares of stock in the company -Stakeholders: individuals or organizations who are directly or indirectly influenced by the actions of the firm.
Economies of scale
the idea that as a planet gets larger and volume increases, the average cost per unit tends to drop
Supply chain risk management
the likelihood of a disruption that would impact the ability of a company to continuously supply products or services
Probability
the probability associated with each branch from a chance node. -The tree diagram also adds cost and payoffs, as well as calculated expected
multi-factor productivity
the ratio between the amount of output produced by an industry or business sector and the amount of inputs used
Assume a fixed cost for a process of $15,000. The variable cost to produce each unit of product is $10, and the selling price for the finished product is $25. Which of the following is the number of units that has to be produced and sold to break even?
$25 - $10 = $15 $15,000/$15 = 1,000 units.
The formats by which a facility is arranged are defined by the general pattern of work flow; there are five basic structures:
(project, workcenter, manufacturing cell, assembly line, and continuous process).
Service Capacity
- Capacity must be available when service is needed - cannot be stored - Service must be available at customer demand point - Much higher volatility is typical
Risk Mitigation Strategies
- Natural disaster- contingency planning insurance - Country risks- hedge, currency, produce/source locally - Supplier failure- use multiple suppliers - Network provider failure- support redundant digital networks - Regulatory risk- up-front continuing research; good legal advice, compliance - Logistics failure- safety stock, detailed tracking, and alternate suppliers - Inventory risks- pool inventory, safety stock - Major quality failure- carefully select and monitor suppliers - Loss of customers- service/ product innovation -Theft and vandalism- insurance, security precautions, knowledge of likely risks, patent protection, etc.
Supply Chain Process Activities
- Planning: processes needed to operate an existing supply chain - Sourcing: Selection of suppliers that will deliver the goods and services needed to create the firm's product - Making: producing the major product or service - Delivering: logistics processes such as selecting carriers, coordinating the movement of goods and information, and collecting payments from customers - Returning: receiving worn-out, excess, and/or defective products from customers.
Current Issues in OSCM
-Coordinating relationships between members of SC -Optimizing global network of suppliers, producers, and distributors -Managing customer touch points -Raising awareness of OSCM as a competitive weapon -Sustainability and triple bottom line
considerations in changing capacity
-Maintaining System Balance -Frequency of Capacity Additions -External Sources of Capacity -Decreasing Capacity
Measures of efficiency
-Receivable turnover -Inventory turnover -Asset turnover
Differences between services and goods
1. A service is an intangible process that cannot be weighed or measured, whereas a good is a tangible output of a process that has physical dimensions. 2. A service requires some degree of interaction with the customer for it to be a service. Even If the interaction is brief. 3. Services, with the big exception of hard technologies (like ATMs) and info tech, are inherently heterogeneous- they vary from day to day and even hour to hour as a function of the attitudes of the customers and the servers 4. Services as a process are perishable and time dependent, and unlike goods, they cannot be stored. 5. Specifications of a service are defined and evaluated as a package of features that affect the five senses.
Risk management framework
1. Identify the sources of potential disruptions a. Focus on highly unlikely events that would cause a significant disruption to normal operations 2. Assess the potential impact of the risk a. Here the goal is to quantify the probability and the potential impact of the risk b. Could be based on financial impact/reputation, potential human lives, and so on. 3. Develop plans to mitigate the risk a. A detailed strategy for minimizing the impact of the risk could take many different forms, depending on the nature of the problem.
To reduce process flow time, you might try which of the following actions? Following are some suggestions for reducing the flow time of a process that do not require the purchase of new equipment. Often, a combination of ideas is appropriate. (Note that acquiring new equipment can also reduce flow time.)
1. Perform activities in parallel. 2. Change the sequence of activities. 3. Reduce interruptions.
process flow reduction
1.Perform activities in parallel 2.Change the sequence of activities 3 .Reduce interruptions
Throughput rate
1/cycle time
If the best operating level of a piece of equipment is at a rate of 400 units per hour and the actual output during an hour is 300 units, which of the following is the capacity utilization rate?
300 (units of actual output/400 (units of best operating level) = 0.75
we know that Inventory = Throughput × Flow Time Before change: Inventory = 2 per hour × 13 hours = 26 units × $1,500/unit = $39,000 After change: Inventory = 2 per hour × 9 hours = 18 units × $1,500/unit = $27,000 Reduction in WIP = $39,000 - $27,000 = $12,000
A firm has redesigned its production process so that it now takes 9 hours for a unit to be made. Using the old process, it took 13 hours to make a unit. If the process makes two unit each hour on average and each unit is worth $1,500. What is the reduction in work-in-process (inventory) value?
station 4 2,100/month
A manufacturing company has a small production line dedicated to the production of a particular product. The line has four stations in serial. Inputs arrive at station 1 and the output from station 1 becomes the input to station 2. The output from station 2 is the input to station 3 and so on. The output from station 4 is the finished product. Station 1 can process 2,700 units per month, station 2 can process 2,500/month, station 3 can process 2,300/month, and station 4 2,100/month. What station sets the maximum possible output from this system? What is that maximum output number? the maximum output number is determined by the bottleneck (the station with the lowest output rate) in a process.
Buffering in a production process refers to a storage area between stages of production activity where output of a stage is placed prior to being used in a "downstream" stage
A multiple-stage process may be buffered internally. Buffering refers to a storage area between stages where the output of a stage is placed prior to being used in a downstream stage. Buffering allows the stages to operate independently.
inputs, outputs, value
A process is part of an organization that takes _________________, turns them into _______________, and adds ___________________ while doing so.
face-to-face, tight specs
A ride at an amusement park is an example of a service operation where there is direct contact between the customer and server, but little variation in the service process -- neither the customer nor server has much discretion in how the service will be provided. As shown on the Service System Design Matrix, which type of service is being delivered?
Work-in-Process/Throughput rate
According to Little's Law, which of the following ratios should be used to find Throughput Time?
In studying positioning of inventory in supply chains, which, if any, of the following is most appropriate?
As order decoupling point moves towards source inventory investment goes down. As order decoupling point moves towards the source customer lead time gets longer.
In studying product-process matrix describing layout strategies, which of the following is most appropriate?
As you move from project to manufacturing cell to continuous process, product volume increases while standardization increases.
n designing service systems, as you go from mail contact to phone contact to face to face total customization, which of the following is most appropriate?
As you move in that continuum from mail to face to face total customization, sales opportunity increases and customer/server contact also increases.
Dell Computers' primary consumer business takes orders from customers for specific configurations of desktop and laptop computers. Customers must select from a certain model line of computers, and choose from available parts, but within those constraints may customize the computer as they desire. Once the order is received, Dell assembles the computer as ordered and delivers it to the customer. What type of manufacturing process is described here?
Assemble-to-order a production environment where pre-assembled components, subassemblies, and modules are put together in response to a specific customer order.
major quality failure
Carefully select and monitor suppliers
Hybrid
Combines the features of both made-to-order and make-to-stock
Hence the steady state output from this system is the smallest of the three, that is 20 per hour.
Consider a three sequentially stepped process named as Process A, Process B and Process C. Input comes into Process A. Output form A goes into Process B. Output from B goes into Process C. Output of C is the final output. Suppose that it takes 2 minutes per unit in Process A, 3 minutes per unit in Process B and 1 minute per unit in Process C. What will be maximum steady state output from this system? Process A takes 2 minutes per unit and hence can process (60/2) = 30 units 30 per hour. Process B can process only (60/3) = 20 per hour. Process C can handle (60/1) = 60 units per hour.
A process flowchart uses which of the following symbols to represent a decision point in a flow diagram?
Decision points are depicted as a diamond with the different flows running from the points on the diamond.
Compared with a service operation, a manufacturing operation's capacity is which of the following?
Demand can be smoothed by inventory policies.
decision trees
Diagrams where answers to yes or no questions lead decision makers to address additional questions until they reach the end of the tree.
a process can be effective without being efficient
Ex:Often, maximizing effectiveness and efficiency at the same time creates conflict between the two goals. "Being efficient" at the customer service counter at a local store or bank means using the smallest number of clerks possible at the counter. Being effective, though, means minimizing the amount of time customers need to wait in line.
At a decision point in a decision tree, which machine would you select when trying to maximize payoff when the anticipated benefit of selecting machine A is $45,000, with a probability of 90%; the expected benefit of selecting machine B is $80,000, with a probability of 50%; and the expected benefit of selecting machine C is $60,000, with a probability of 75%?
Expected value of machine A = 0.9 x $45,000 = $40,500. Expected value of machine B = 0.5 x $80,000 = $40,000. Expected value of machine C = 0.75 x $60,000 = $45,000. Since $45,000 > $40,500 > $40,000, you would select machine C.
Strategic Alignment
Extent to which the project is viewed as helping the organization achieve its strategic objectives and long-term goals
A continuous process indicates production of discrete parts moving from workstation to workstation at a controlled rate.
FALSE (A continuous process is similar to an assembly line in that production follows a predetermined sequence of steps, but the flow is continuous such as with liquids, rather than discrete.)
Because little or no inventory is carried in a service operation, it is easy to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.
FALSE. (Too much capacity generates excessive costs. Insufficient capacity leads to lost customers. In these situations, of course, we seek the assistance of marketing. This is one reason we have discount airfares, hotel specials on weekends, and so on. This is also a good illustration of why it is difficult to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services).
Within a sustainability framework, the environmental dimension of the triple bottom line concept has to do with labor, the community, and the region in which a firm conducts its business.
FALSE. Social criteria pertains to fair and beneficial business practices toward labor, the community, and the region in which a firm conducts its business.
Throughput rate of a production process is the amount of time a unit spends actually being worked on.
FALSE. The throughput rate is the output rate that the process is expected to produce over a period of time.
When a make-to-order production process is used, production is based on forecasts.
False. Make-to-order process is activated only in response to an actual order.
t/f: Once an operations strategy is adopted and articulated, the primary emphasis becomes perfecting the system of activities that make up the strategy through detailed refinements over a long period of time.
False. Operations strategy is continually revised, re-planned, and coordinated with the ever-changing corporate strategy.
Because little or no inventory is carried in a service operation, it is easy to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.
False. Too much capacity generates excessive costs. Insufficient capacity leads to lost customers. In these situations, of course, we seek the assistance of marketing. This is one reason we have discount airfares, hotel specials on weekends, and so on. This is also a good illustration of why it is difficult to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.
line of visibility
Flowcharts are a common process design and analysis tool used in both manufacturing and services. What is a key feature on flowcharts used in service operations that differentiates between the front-office and back-office aspects of the system?
What is the percentage change in the energy partial productivity measure for SunPath between 2012 and 2013? The energy partial productivity measure
For 2012 is $300,000/$10,000 = 30. For 2013 is $330,000/$9,000 = 36.66. The percentage change between 2012 and 2013 then is (36.66 - 30)/30 = 6.66/30 = 22.2%.
In designing a general service facility, capacity should be such that the target rate of service utilization (ρ), in order to get the best general purpose design, should about 0.7 (70%) so that your system would be in the zone of service with maximum possible utilization within that.
For most general service operations, rate of service utilization (ρ) should be about 0.7. Above 0.7, congestion builds up. Above 1.0 there will be an infinite queue. 0.6 or less may be less than ideal. Exhibit 5.6
Managing customer-introduced variability
How should services accommodate the variation introduced by the customer - Standard approach is to treat this as a trade-off between cost and quality o More accommodation: more cost o Less accommodation: less satisfaction -Standard approach may overlook ways to accommodate customer
Partial Measure (Without measures of other inputs only a partial output measure is possible)
If all you knew about a production system was that total daily output was 400 units and the total labor necessary to produce the 400 units was 350 hours, what kind of productivity measure could you use to compute productivity?
The restaurant in the prior problem anticipates that in one year, their demand will double as long as they can provide good service to their customers. How much will they have to increase their service capacity to stay out of the critical zone?
If demand doubles, they will be receiving about 150 customers per hour on average. Find the service rate necessary to result in a utilization rate of 70%. service utilization = 150/Mean service rate = 70% ==> Mean service rate = 150/70% = 214.3 -> 215
Low production efficiency
In the service-system design matrix, a face-to-face total customization service encounter is expected to have which of the following?
An advantage of a make-to-stock process is which of the following?
It features rapid delivery of a standard product.
Capacity planning involving acquisition or disposal of fixed assets such as buildings, equipment or facilities is considered as which one of the following planning horizons?
Long range: greater than one year. Where productive resources (such as buildings, equipment, or facilities) take a long time to acquire or dispose of, long-range capacity planning requires top management participation and approval.
Capacity Planning Time Durations
Long: greater than one year - Intermediate range: monthly or quarterly plans covering the next 6 to 18 months -Short range: less than one month
If you want to reduce process flow time, it has been suggested that you can reduce interruptions in the production process.
Many processes are performed with relatively large time intervals between the activities. For example, purchase orders may be issued only every other day. Individuals preparing reports that result in purchase orders should be aware of deadlines to avoid missing them, because improved timing in these processes can save many days of flow time.
make to order
Only activated in response to an actual order - Both work-in-process and finished goods inventory kept to a minimum -Response time is slow
competitive dimensions
Price: make the product or deliver the service cheap - Quality: make a great product or delivery a great service - Delivery speed: make the product or deliver the service quickly - Delivery reliability: deliver it when promised - Coping with changes in demand: change its volume -Flexibility and New- product introduction speed: change it.
make to stock
Process activated to meet expected or forecast demand -Customer orders are served from target stocking level
The way to build in greater flexibility in your workers is to do which of the following?
Provide a broader range of training.
The goods-services continuum consists of which set of the following categories?
Pure goods, core goods, core services, pure services
Which of the following is a measure of operations and supply management efficiency used by Wall Street?
Receivable turnover
Which of the following is not a way that operations and supply processes are categorized?
Selecting
The closer the customer is to the customer order decoupling point, the longer it takes the customer to receive the product.
Selection of decoupling points is a strategic decision that determines customer lead times and can greatly affect inventory investment. The closer this point is to the customer, the quicker the customer can be served.
Which of the following is not a characteristic that distinguishes services from goods?
Service jobs are unskilled
Which one of the following is NOT a major factor distinguishing service design and development from manufacturing design and development?
Service operations can be protected by patents; manufacturing operations cannot. (Although equipment and software that support a service can be protected by patents and copyrights, a service operation itself lacks the legal protection commonly available to goods production).
A general-purpose machine is less capable than a special-purpose machine in certain tasks but can perform a broader variety of tasks.
TRUE- Less specialized equipment is referred to as "general purpose," meaning that it can be used easily in many different ways if it is set up in the proper way. More specialized equipment, referred to as "special purpose," is often available as an alternative to a general-purpose machine. For example, if we need to drill holes in a piece of metal, the general-purpose option may be to use a simple hand drill. An alternative special-purpose drill is a drill press. Given the proper setup, the drill press can drill holes much quicker than the hand drill can.
Many service jobs are highly skilled such as physician, attorney, airline pilot, OSCM instructor, etc. The characteristics that distinguish goods from services are:
Tangibility 2. Interaction with the customer 3. Services are heterogeneous 4. Services are perishable and time dependent 5. Services are seen as a package of features that affect the five senses
capacity
The ability to hold, receive, store, or accommodate - In business, viewed as the amount viewed as the amount of output that a system is capable of achieving over a specific period of time - Capacity management needs to consider both inputs and outputs - Many industries measure and report capacity in terms of output -Industries whose product mix is very uncertain, like hospitals, often express capacity in terms of outputs
Three Contrasting Service Designs
The production line approach a. McDonalds b. Service delivery is treated much like manufacturing 2. The self-service approach a. ATM machines b. Customer takes a greater role in the production of the service 3. The personal attention approach a.Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
lead time
The time needed to respond to a customer order
500 units/ 350 hours= 1.428 unit/hr
The total output from a production system in one day is 500 units and the total labor necessary to produce the 500 units is 350 hours. Using the appropriate productivity measure, which of the following numbers represents the resulting the productivity ratio?
littles law
There is a long-term relationship among inventory, throughput, and flow time •Inventory = Throughput rate x Flow time
At some point, the size of a growing plant can become too large and diseconomies of scale become a capacity planning problem. The larger the capacity cushion, the better
This is false for the firm whose competitive advantage is low cost or price. For a firm competing on speed of delivery or innovative ability, for example, a larger capacity cushion will allow more flexibility and enable an appropriate response to unplanned orders.
What is the percentage change in SunPath's total productivity measure between 2012 and 2013?
Total productivity For 2012 is $300,000/($40,000 + $45,000 + $10,000 + $250,000 + $2,000) = 0.8646. For 2013 is $330,000/($43,000 + $51,000 + $9,000 + 262,000 + $6,000) = 0.8895. The difference between 2012 and 2013 is 0.0249 and the percentage difference is (0.8895 - 0.8646)/0.8646 = 0.0249/0.8646 = 0.0288 or 2.88%.
Asset Turnover
Total sales/average total assets
Order Taking capacity: 12 hours × 90 units per hours = 1,080 units Order Picking capacity: 12 hours × 80 units per hours = 960 units Order Packing capacity: 12 hours × 75 units per hours = 900 units Order Packing is the bottleneck, setting the maximum daily output to 900 units.
Wally's Widget Warehouse takes orders from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. The manager wants to analyze the process and has provided the process flow diagram shown below. There are three steps required to ship a customer order. The first step is to take the order from a customer. The second step is to pick the order for the customer, and then they have to pack the order ready for shipping. What is the current maximum daily output of the process assuming that no one works overtime? (i.e., meaning all three operations work a 12-hour shift)
Competitive dimensions
What is the term used to describe product attributes that attract certain customers and can be used to form the competitive position of a firm?
straddling
When a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position in offering customers a variety of differing services, what is this process called?
customer ordering decoupling point
Where inventory is positioned to allow entities in the supply chain to operate independently
Self-service approach (C. H. Lovelock and R. F. Young proposes that the service process can be enhanced by having the customer take a greater role in the production of the service).
Which of the following approaches to service design is characterized by having the customer take a greater role in the production of the service?
Physician practice (Face-to-face total customization refers to service encounters whose specifications must be developed through some interaction between the customer and server. Legal and medical services are of this type).
Which of the following is considered a high-contact service operation?
Management acumen
Which of the following is not a major strategic operational competitive dimension that forms a company's competitive position?
Service encounter
Which of the following is not part of the "service triangle"? Employees Support systems Customers Service strategy Service encounter
Self-service approach
Which of the following is one of the three contrasting approaches to delivering on-site service?
Starving
Which of the following production process terms best describes the situation when activities in a stage of production must stop because there is no work?
engineer to order
Work with the customer to design and then make the product
Business process
any part of an organization that takes inputs and transforms them into outputs. -A process that does not match the needs of the firm will punish the firm every minute that the firm operates.
Diseconomies of scale
at some point, the plant become too large average cost per unit begins to increase
cycle time
average time between completion of units. Does not include waiting. Measured as time. Max time spent at any station
Capacity utilization rate
a measure of how close the firm is to its best possible operating level -Capacity utilization rate= capacity used/ best operating level
Partial Productivity
a measure of performance that indicates how much of a particular kind of input it takes to produce an output
Break even analysis
a method of determining what sales volume must be reached before total revenue equals total costs breakeven = Fixed cost / (Price - Variable cost)
Buffering
a storage area between stages where the output of a stage is placed prior to being used in a downstream stage.
Tier 1 supplier
a supplier that provides products or services directly to a firm
tier 2 supplier
a supplier that provides products or services to a firms first tier supplier.
Make to stock
a system that produces high volumes of standardized product -easy with unlimited inventory, but inventory costs money ex: TV, Clothing, Packaged food products.
upstream activities
activities or firms positioned earlier in the supply chain
downstream activities
activities or firms positioned later in the supply chain
Efficiency
actual output/standard output
If the fixed cost increased, the variable cost and product price stay the same, the new break-even point would be ____________.
break-even = Fixed cost / (Price - Variable cost); therefore, increasing fixed cost will lead to higher break-even
capacity utilization rate
capacity used/best operating level
benchmarking
comparing the metrics of one company to another
service package
constitutes the major output of the development process Many parts of the service package are defined by the training individuals receive
natural disaster
contingency planning, insurance
Inventory Turnover
cost of goods sold/average inventory
Order winner
criteria used by customers to differentiate the products and services of one firm from those of other firms - Features that customers use to determine which product to ultimately purchase
Country risks
currency hedging, local sourcing
decision node
denote a decision made by the decision maker from a set of discrete decision alternatives. (represented as squares)
chance nodes
denotes an event (realization of a state of nature) (represented by circles)
logistics failure
detailed tracking, alternate suppliers
Doing something at the lowest possible cost is called
efficiency
regulatory risk
good legal advice, comilance
pacing
having a fixed time for the movement of items through the process -In a serial process, the movement of items through each activity is often paced in some mechanical way in order to coordinate the line. For a paced process, dividing the time available to produce a certain product by customer demand for the product calculates the required cycle time for a process o A manufacturer needs to produce 1,000 automobiles during a shift oA shift is 420 minutes
Assembly line
is where work processes are arranged according to the progressive steps by which the product is made.
workcenter
layout is where similar equipment or functions are grouped together.
Operation
manufacturing and service processes used to transform resources employed by a firm into products desired by customers.
Inventory turnover is an operations efficiency measure and which of the following is the most appropriate answer?
measures efficiency in turning inventory into sale purpose is to measure liquidity
Receivables Turnover
net credit sales / avg acc receivable
Blocking
occurs when the activities in a stage must stop because there is no place to deposit the item
starving
occurs when the activities in a stage must stop because there is no work.
Marketing
operations link describing order winner as a differentiator from competition and order qualifier as a screen that permits the product or service to be even considered.
Which of the following about order winners and order qualifiers is true?
order winner is a differentiating criterion and order qualifier is a screening criterion
A local restaurant is concerned about their ability to provide quality service as they continue to grow and attract more customers. They have collected data from Friday and Saturday nights, their busiest time of the week. During these time periods about 75 customers arrive per hour for service. Given the number of tables and chairs, and the typical time it takes to serve a customer, they figure they can serve on average about 100 customers per hour. During these nights, are they in the zone of service, the critical zone, or the zone of non-service?
service utilization = 75/100 = 75% this restaurant is in the critical zone on these nights according to exhibit 5.6
OSCM Strategy
setting broad policies and plans for using the resources of a firm- must be integrated with corporate strategy - Corporate strategy provides overall direction and coordinates operational goals with the larger organization -Can be viewed as part of a planning process that coordinates operational goals with those of the larger operation
bottleneck
stage that limits the capacity of the process -Throughput rate of a "pipeline" is determined by the smallest "pipe"
Sustainability
the ability to maintain balance in a system
Capacity Flexibility
the ability to rapidly increase or decrease product levels or the ability to shift rapidly from one product or service to another
Total Productivity
the amount of output per unit of all inputs (measured in $$)
service triangle
the customer is the center of the service strategy, the systems, and the employees who serve him/her.
Operations and supply chain management (OSCM)
the design, the operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firms primary products and services.
terminal nodes
the ending of a decision tree, terminal nodes have an associated payoff.
Make-to-order
the strategy of producing customized products and services -define a customer's order in terms of alternative components because these are carried in inventory ex: dell computers makes their desktop computers.
expected value
the total benefit to be expected if a decision were to be repeated several times
inventory investment
the value of the change in total inventories held in the economy during a given period
Order qualifier
those dimensions that are necessary for a firms products to be considered for purchase by customers -Features customers will not forego
Central idea of OSCM
to apply a total system approach to managing the flow of information, materials, and services from raw material suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customer.