A short definition of quality sometimes used (including in some UK legislation), said originally to come from Joseph Juran, is:
Is it fit for purpose? Can it do the job required? This is one definition of quality.
The nearest answer to this would have been 'fitness for sale' perhaps, but this has no legal or such a strong traditional standing.
It is thought that the cause of a negative variance in the materials budget is the poor negotiation skills of procurement staff. Which of the following (select two) would be a move in the right direc-tion to remedy this situation?
Surety of supply is not in question; cost of supply is.
Sacking the Head of Procurement is probably a rash move, unless there is much more going on.
Using competition, and ensuring effective skills are in place would seem to be good options in the circumstances.
Lifetime costs are also known as (choose two):
Lifetime costing, TCO and whole life costing are essentially the same concept - looking at buying based on total costs over the useful life of an asset, not just the purchase price. Although this con-cept seems obvious once you know it, very many people, including senior managers as well as politi-cians, seem to be unfamiliar with the notion.
OTIF stands for:
On time and in full.
OTIF is a reference to an order placed with a supplier having been delivered in the right quantity and on time. Note that this acronym makes no reference to quality.
'Value engineering is a structured approach to increasing the value obtained from a product by of-fering the same level of XXXXX at a lower cost'.
What is XXXXX?
Functionality.
The idea of value analysis or value engineering is that cost should be taken out of the product, whilst enabling the same performance.
'It is important to remember that XXX customer service has a knock-on effect on YYY customer service'. What are the missing two words?
This is the notion that the way people behave (and are treated) inside the organisation is likely to reflect the way they behave to others outside the organisation.
'A high degree of skill or expertise'
This is a definition of 'proficiency'.
The axes on the Mendelow stakeholder management matrix are:
How powerful are stakeholders?
How much interest do they have?
Using these measures to help manage stakeholders effectively.
Value can be added through XXXX reduction or by making a process more efficient or more effective'
This is a reference to cost reduction - something which procurement is often tasked with as an activ-ity.
This question is pretty straightforward - we wouldn't normally seek cash, profit or value reductions. However, there is something a little bit counter-intuitive: adding or creating something by making a reduction... Perhaps 'less is more'.
Finding new potential suppliers using the internet might be known as:
E-sourcing.
Try to be clear on the difference between e-sourcing and e-auctions.
Other related e-terms include e-contracting, e-procurement, and possibly more.
