BIT 3464: EPC Exam 1 Quizzes
One of the earlier releases of the SAP ERP system that took advantage of the scalability to client-server architecture was known as: (a) SAP R/3 (b) SAP NetWeaver (c) All of the early SAP systems used client-server architecture (d) SAP R/2 (e) SAP for Mainframe
(a) SAP R/3
A process model for a (business) process is any abstract representation of that process whether it be a simple diagram or a complex computer algorithm. (a) True (b) False
(a) True
BI or business analytics uses a multitude of technologies and applications to derive and analyze large quantities of data in order to make better (business) decisions (a) True (b) False
(a) True
Business processes typically span across multiple business functions: (a) True (b) False
(a) True
Individual and non-integrated information systems for each functional area of a business are known as silos/or legacy systems (a) True (b) False
(a) True
One of the benefits of in-memory computing is the analysis of large amounts of data for real-time decision-making: (a) True (b) False
(a) True
The direct computer-to-computer exchange of standard business documents is known as EDI or Electronic Data Interchange: (a) True (b) False
(a) True
A successful business manager will view all of their company's business functions, processes, and operations from the perspective of: (a) a maximized revenue (b) an accurate sales forecast (c) a satisfied customer (d) a positive cash flow (e) a profitable sale
(a) a satisfied customer
Which of the following entities are included in the information systems used to store, organize, analyze, and deliver information to today's businesses? (a) all of the above (b) people (c) procedures (d) computers (e) software
(a) all of the above
A core software program (or collection of programs) that is used by companies to coordinate and integrate information across all areas of business is called: (a) an ERP system (b) a server farm (c) Apache server software (d) the cloud (e) a mainframe computer
(a) an ERP system
A process mapping technique that shows which team member(s) are responsible for the various activities and tasks being mapped is known as: (a) swimlane flowcharting (b) best practices flowcharting (c) hierarchical flowcharting (d) vertical flowcharting (e) Moore's flowcharting
(a) swinlane flowcharting
A scalable architecture is the client-server architecture where a central database is maintained on a server with individual clients accessing that database as needed: (a) true (b) false
(a) true
Business processes only affect external customers and never an internal customer of a business such as another department in an organization: (a) True (b) False
(b) False
In-memory computing can be used to speed up ERP transaction processing by increasing latency: (a) True (b) False
(b) False
Software programs that automate the execution of business processes and addresses all aspects of a process are called ERP Wizards: (a) True (b) False
(b) False
The market for mobile apps for ERP software such as SAP, is virtually nonexistent: (a) True (b) False
(b) False
With EPC diagrams, the Exclusive Or (XOR) type of connector indicates that both branches of the connector must be taken: (a) True (b) False
(b) False
one of the benefits of an integrated information system is that the data stored by one functional area of a business is kept separate from the other functional areas for security purposes: (a) True (b) False
(b) False
Which of the following is not of the four functional areas common among most companies? (a) M/S (b) Logistics and Distribution Management (c) HR (d) A/F (e) SCM
(b) Logistics and Distribution Management
A business process can be thought of as: (a) a software package or module inherent in a business (b) a collection of activities that turns inputs into outputs to create value (c) all of the above (d) the flow of work from one functional area of a business to another (e) a function that supports one single business entity
(b) a collection of activities that turns inputs into outputs to create value
Which of the following is a benefit to implementing an ERP system? (a) elimination of multiple, and sometimes conflicting, data across multiple software systems (b) all of the above (c) elimination of maintaining and updating multiple legacy systems (d) ability to conduct, what-if scenarios enterprise-wide (e) ease of global integration
(b) all of the above
One of the most important tasks in creating a process map is to define which activities are to be included in the process through the use of: (a) scales (b) process boundaries (c) legends (d) text boxes (e) scopes
(b) process boundaries
Typically, the biggest obstacle to the successful implementation of an ERP system is: (a) issues with the software itself (b) support of and acceptance by the people using the system (c) hardware related (d) lack of enough modules or components (e) a bad ERP configuration
(b) support of and acceptance by the people using the system
Enterprise information management is a term that is best described as: (a) all of the above (b) the business and technology functions used to manage information as a vital corporate asset (c) the use of algorithms to manage information (d) the process of backing up and restoring the information (data) on an enterprise server (e) the use of soft management skills to coordinate information throughout the enterprise
(b) the business and technology functions used to manage information as a vital corporate asset
All of the following are benefits to using RFID tags except: (a) RFID tags are prohibitively expensive when compared to other data access and collection mechanisms such as bar codes (b) RFID tags require line-of-sight access in order to scan the tag (c) None of the above (d) RFID tags tend to degrade and can become unreadable over time (e) RFID tags are not used by any of the major players of various industries today
(c) None of the above; all are correct
A graphical representation depicting movement or flow of both real and abstract items of a business process is known as: (a) a kiviat diagram (b) a quality process chart (c) a flowchart (d) all of the above (e) a process assembly chart
(c) a flowchart
Hierarchical modeling can be best described as: (a) an extension of process mapping (b) a process map that utilizes computer graphing technologies (c) all of the above (d) an interactive process map (e) a process map that can show differing levels of process detail
(c) all of the above
Assessing the disparities that exist between a business process currently in place and the desired business process that would be most effective is known as: (a) quality improvement (b) growth performance (c) gap analysis (d) trend functionality (e) the peace dividend
(c) gap analysis
A scalable computer system is one in which: (a) all operations are scaled to a common component such as a power supply (b) all answers are given in the form of musical scales (c) the correctness of each decision (transaction) is measured on a scale from 0 to 1 (d) capacity can be increased by adding additional hardware components (e) All of the above
(d) capacity can be increased by adding additional hardware components
With value analysis, any activity of a business process should be eliminated if it adds: (a) real value (b) business value (c) customer value (d) no value (a) all of the above
(d) no value
Software as a service is best defined as: (a) a data collection technique (b) an analytics processing service (c) a business intelligence strategy (d) a software delivery service via a server host to a client via a web browser (e) a web-enabled data delivery service
(d) software delivery service via a server host to a client via a web browser
All of the following are true concerning Event Process chains except: (a) the event process chain diagram only uses two symbols to represent a business process (b) business processes are represented as either events or functions (c) all of the above (d) the event process chain method is not supported with SAP ERP software/systems (e) events represent states or status while functions represent process change
(d) the event process chain is not supported by SAP ERP software/systems
When evaluating options for ERP software implementation, the minimum rate of return that a company will accept for an (any) IT project is known as: (a) the mortgage rate (b) the recount rate (c) the funding rate (d) the hurdle rate (e) the running rate
(d) the hurdle rate
Enterprise Resource Planning systems are made possible by all of the following information technology components except: (a) increased computer processing capabilities (b) a shared database or database management system (DBMS) (c) increased bandwidth capabilities (d) the telegraph (e) advances in computer memory and storage capabilities
(d) the telegraph
Moore's Law, named after Intel employee Gordon Moore, states that the number of decisions that can be processed by a CPU doubled every ____ months: (a) 8 to 12 (b) 3 to 6 (c) 1 (d) 36 to 72 (e) 18 to 24
(e) 18 to 24
The web services platform available through SAP that supports business transactions and seamless connectivity over the internet through a diverse collection of software components is known as: (a) the SAP cloud (b) SAPNet (c) DreamWeaver (d) Net Software Services (e) NetWeaver
(e) NetWeaver
Delivering an ERP module to a user through the internet is known as: (a) service computing (b) text computing (c) mobile computing (d) a web service (e) cloud computing
(e) cloud computing
Through the acquisition and implementation of an ERP system such as SAP can be very expensive and time-consuming, the primary benefit for any business entity that chooses to implement such a system is one of: (a) reducing cost (b) managing inventory (c) increasing layers of management (d) increasing profitability (e) complete business control
(e) complete business control
Information systems that are designed to share information across the functional areas of a business are called: (a) middleware information systems (b) third-party information systems (c) complete information systems (d) linked information systems (e) integrated information systems
(e) integrated information systems
Which of the following would be a potential benefit of the sharing of information between the M/S function and the SCM function of a business? (a) increased safety stock inventory (b) greater chance of incomplete customer orders (c) all of the above (d) decreased customer satisfaction (e) reduced chance of stockout
(e) reduced chance of stockout
On-demand CRM
CRM software and computer equipment that resides with the CRM provider rather being installed in-house
Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP)
SAP's ERP internal programming language
Functional areas of operation
a broad categorization of business activities, including marketing, sales, production, and accounting
Business function
a business activity within a functional area of operation
Client-server architecture
a central computer-local computer arrangement in which data stored in a central computer (a server) are downloaded to a local PC (a client of the server) where data are processed; historically, client-server architecture replaced many companies' mainframe-based architecture
Scalability
a characteristic of an IS that indicates the system's capacity can be extended by adding servers to the network, rather than replacing the entire system; characteristic of client-server networks, but usually not of mainframe-based systems
Business process
a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to a customer; creating the output might involve activities from different functional areas
Customer relationship management (CRM) software
a collection of software tools that use data from a company's ERP system to enhance the company's relationships with its customers; CRM software allows for the following activities: segmenting customers, one-to-one marketing, sales-force automation (SFA), sales-campaign management, marketing encyclopedias, and call-center automation
Rough-cut planning
a common term in manufacturing for aggregate planning
Electronic data interchange (EDI)
a computer-to-computer transfer of standard business documents that allows companies to handle the purchasing process electronically, avoiding the costs and delays resulting from paper-based systems
Accounting and Finance (A/F)
a functional area of business that is responsible for recording data about transactions, including sales, raw material purchases, payroll, and receipt of cash from customers
Human Resources (HR)
a functional area of business that manages recruiting, training, evaluating, and compensating employees
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
a functional area that includes developing production plans, ordering and receiving raw materials, manufacturing products, maintaining facilities, and shipping products
Audit trail
a linked set of document numbers related to an order
Stockout
a manufacturing shortfall that occurs when raw materials or packaging runs out
On-time performance
a measure of how often a supplier meets agreed-upon delivery dates (used in supply-chain management metrics)
Project System (PS) module
a module in SAP ERP that allows for the planning and control of new R&D, construction, and marketing projects; this module allows for costs to be collected against a project budget, and it can be used to manage the implementation of ERP itself
Plant Maintenance (PM) module
a module in SAP ERP that allows planning for preventative maintenance of plant machinery and managing maintenance resources, so equipment breakdowns are minimized
Workflow (WF) module
a module in SAP ERP that can be used to automate any of the activities in SAP ERP; it can perform task-flow analysis and then prompt employees (by e-mail) if they need to take action
Human Resources (HR) module
a module in SAP ERP that facilitates employee recruiting, hiring, training, and payroll and benefits processing
Asset Management (AM) module
a module in SAP ERP that helps a company manage fixed-asset purchases (plant and machinery) and related depreciation
Quality Management (QM) module
a module in SAP ERP that helps companies plan and record quality control activities, such as product inspections and material certifications
Controlling (CO) module
a module in SAP ERP that is used for internal management purposes; the software assigns a company's manufacturing costs to products and to cost centers, facilitating cost analysis
Production Planning (PP) module
a module in SAP ERP that maintains production information; production is planned and scheduled, and actual production activities are recorded
Materials Management (MM) module
a module in SAP ERP that manages the acquisition of raw materials from suppliers (purchasing) and the subsequent handling and storage of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods
Sales and Distribution (SD) module
a module in SAP ERP that records sales orders and scheduled deliveries
Financial Accounting (FI) module
a module in SAP ERP that records transactions in the general ledger accounts and generates financial statements for external reporting purposes
Material requirements planning (MRP)
a production-scheduling methodology that determines the timing and quantity of production and purchase-order releases to meet a master production schedule; this process uses the bill of material, lot-size data, and material lead times
Tolerance group
a range that defines limits on the transactions that an employee can process
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
a system that helps a company manage business processes such as marketing, production, purchasing, and accounting in an integrated way; ERP does this by recording all transactions in a common database that is used by information systems throughout the company and by providing shared management-reporting tools
Condition technique
an SAP control mechanism that accommodates the various ways that companies offer price discounts
Return on investment (ROI)
an assessment of a project's value calculated by dividing the value of the project's benefits by the project's cost
Integrated information system
an information system that allows sharing of common data throughout an organization; ERP systems are integrated systems because all operational data are located in a central database, where they can be accessed by users throughout an organization
Legacy system
an older and often outdated information system
Silo
an unintegrated IS configuration in which individual business functional areas each have their own hardware, software, and methods of processing data and information
Raw data
data on sales, manufacturing, and other operations that have not been analyzed or manipulated for presentation
Safety stock
extra raw material and packaging kept available to help avoid stockouts
Delivery
in SAP, release of the documents that a warehouse uses to pick, pack, and ship orders
Organizational structure
in SAP, the method used to define the relationships between organizational groups such as companies, plants, storage locations, sales divisions, and distribution channels
Module
individual programs that can be purchased, installed, and run separately, but that all extract data from the common database
Metrics
measurements of performance; discussed in this book in relation to the effects of supply-chain management efforts
Customer master data
permanent data about each of a company's customers; customer master data is stored in central database tables in SAP ERP; master data are used by many SAP ERP modules
Material master data
relatively permanent data about materials that are stored in central database tables in SAP ERP; these data are used by SD, MM, and other SAP ERP modules
Open architecture
software that allows integration with third-party software; SAP ERP is an example of open-architecture software; the term can also be applied to hardware products
Bill of material (BOM)
the "recipe" listing the materials (including quantities) needed to make a product
Capacity
the amount of an item that can be produced
Best practice
the best, most efficient way of handling a certain business process
Lead time
the cumulative time required for a supplier to receive and process an order, take the material out of stock, package it, load it on a truck, and deliver it
R/3
the first integrated IS released by German software vendor SAP in 1992; now called SAP ERP. This ERP system contains the following main modules, which can be implemented as a group or selectively: Sales and Distribution (S&D), Materials Management (MM), Production Planning (PP), Quality Management (QM), Plant Maintenance (PM), Human Resources (HR), Financial Accounting (FI), Controlling (CO), Asset Management (AM), Project System (PS), and Workflow (WF)
Marketing and Sales (M/S)
the functional area of business that is responsible for developing products, determining pricing, promoting products to customers, taking customer's orders, and creating sales forecasts
Document flow
the linked set of document numbers related to an order; an audit trail
Information systems (IS)
the people, procedures, software, and computers that store, organize, and deliver information
Initial fill rate
the percentage of an order that the supplier provided in the first shipment
Lot sizing
the process for determining purchase and production order quantities
Master production schedule (MPS)
the production plan for finished goods
MRP record
the standard way of showing the materials requirements planning process on paper
Data mining
the statistical and logical analysis of large sets of transaction data, looking for patterns that can aid decision making, and improve customer sales and customer service; data mining is often done with data in a data warehouse
Database management system (DBMS)
the technology that stores database records in an organized fashion and allows for the easy retrieval of the data
Initial order lead time
the time needed for the supplier to fill an order (used in supply-chain management metrics)
Cash-to-cash cycle time
the time that elapses from when suppliers are paid for raw materials to cash is collected from the customer (used in supply-chain management metrics)
