ANSWER PROVIDED BY Dr. PRASANTH (MBA,
PhD, DME)
+91 9447965521, +91
9924764558
prasanththampi1975@gmail.com
Computer Fundamentals
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
• This section consists of Multiple Choice questions & Short Answer type
questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part One questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 5 marks
each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Number system is of
a. 1 type
b. 2 types
c. 3 types
d. 4 types
2. A logic gate operate on
a. 1input signal to produce output
b. 1 or more input signals to produce output
c. Memory
d. None of the above
3. Cache memory is
a. Small memory
b. Volatile memory
c. Extremely fast
d. Both (a) & (c)
4. Secondary storage of a computer system is
a. Volatile
b. Non-volatile
c. Reliable
d. Non-reliable
5. Magnetic disk is
a. Memory device
b. Indirect-access storage device
c. Direct-access storage device
d. None of the above
Examination Paper of Semester III
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
6. Linker is a software tool that takes
a. Decision
b. Execution
c. Multiple object program files of any software
d. Both (a) & (b)
7. Computer network is a network of computer that
a. Are geographically distributed
b. Programe wise distributed
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
8. Topology refer to
a. Way in which the programs are links
b. Way in which the network’s nodes are linked together
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
9. WWW refers to
a. World wide web
b. World wise web
c. World wild web
d. World west web
10. Media center computer is
a. General purpose electronic equipment for homes
b. General purpose electronic equipment for offices
c. General purpose electronic equipment for Theaters
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Write a short notes on “The OSI Model”?
2. Write short notes on “Touch screen”?
3. What is “Open Source Software”?
4. Write short notes on “Laser printers”?
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Semester III
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to
250 words).
Caselet 1
Over the past two years Linux has spread like wildfire through corporate data
centers. Companies
once dependent on expensive proprietary systems from Sun, IBM, or
Hewlett-Packard have replaced
them with dirt-cheap Dell or no-name servers that are Intel powered and loaded
with the Linux
operating system. Linux now runs almost 15 percent of all servers and is
growing at about 23 percent
a year. And even mainframe systems have joined in, with IBM estimating that
over 10 percent of its
mainframe sales are for running Linux applications.
Though PC users haven’t switched to Linux – less than 1 percent of all
computers run Linux – a
2002 survey by CIO magazine found that almost 30 percent of chief technologists
were considering
moving their companies’ PCs to a Linux PC operating system like Lindows.
Wal-Mart, which began
selling Lindows-ready PCs on its website in September 2002, had such success
with that offering
that by Christmas it was having trouble meeting demand. Almost every major PC
electronics maker,
from HP in printers to Epson in scanners, is making sure it has Linux-compatible
offerings. And Sun
has poured millions of dollars into its Star Office software suite, which gives
Linux users programs
that work like – and more important, are compatible with – Microsoft
PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
Backed by technology titans such as Intel, IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Dell,
Linux is just now
going mainstream. From DaimlerChrysler to Tommy Hilfiger – not to mention just
about every
major brokerage on Wall Street – Linux is gaining ground. Coming from near zero
three years ago,
Linux grabbed 13.7 percent of the $50.9 billion market for server computers in
2002. That figure is
expected to jump to 25.2 percent in 2006, putting Linux in the No. 2 position,
according to market
researcher IDC. And get this: Starting in 2003, No. 1 Microsoft’s 59.9 percent
share in the
backwards. Even the surprise but shaky assault on Linux by SCO in its suit of
IBM is not expected
to slow the steady growth of Linux.
Meanwhile, Linux is finding its way into countless consumer-electronics gizmos,
including Sony
PlayStation videogame consoles and TiVo TV-program recorders. “Has Linux come
of age? The
answer is absolutely, positively, unequivocally yes,” says Steven A. Mills,
group executive for IBM
Software.
How did Linux make the jump into the mainstream? A trio of powerful forces
converged. First,
credit the sagging economy. Corporations under intense pressure to reduce their
computing bills
began casting about for low-cost alternatives. Second, Intel Corp., the
dominant maker of processors
for PCs, loosened its tight links with Microsoft and started marking chips for
Linux; at the same time
a resurgent IBM made a $1 billion investment in Linux compatibility across its
entire product line.
This made it possible for corporations to get all the computing power they wanted
at a fraction of the
price. The third ingredient was widespread resentment of Microsoft and fear
that the company was
on the verge of gaining a stranglehold on corporate customers. “I always want
to have the right
competitive dynamics. That’s why we focus on Linux. Riding that were will give
us choices going
forward,” says John A. McKinley Jr., executive vice-president for global
technology and services at
Merrill Lynch Co., which runs some key securities trading applications on
Linux.
Using open-source software like Linux is a no-brainer for many companies. It’s
stable and can be
fixed easily if bugs appear, and you can’t beat the price. But some companies
and government
organizations are taking their commitment to open source a step further by
actively participating in
the open-source community that develops Linux. When their developers write
patches, modifications
Examination Paper of Semester III
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
or new implementations of open-source software for in-house use, these
organizations are releasing
that new code back to the open-source community, thereby assisting in the
software’s ongoing
development.
What’s the payoff? It makes for better software. “If we find a bug or a
problem, we’re interested
fixing that problem. We’re also interested in not fixing it again in the next
version,” explains Robert
M. Lefkowitz, director of open-source strategy at Merrill Lynch & Co. in
New York.
This is why Merrill Lunch sent the fixes it made to open-source software during
one of its
projects back to the open-source community. “The way a typical open-source
project works is that
there is a core team in the open-source community with direct access to
modifying the code on its
central website,” Lefkowitz says. “People who want to contribute to that
community submit their
code, which is looked at by a core team and integrated if found appropriate.”
For all contributions, Lefkowitz emphasizes the importance of creating a
corporate policy with
help from the departments that could be affected by open-source involvement. At
Merrill Lynch, an
eight-member Open-Source Review Board determines when contributing is
appropriate.
1. Should businesses continue to switch to the Linux operating system on
servers and mainframes?
Why or why not?
2. Should the IT departments of companies like Merrill Lynch contribute their
software
improvements to the open-source community for products like Linux? Explain your
reasoning?
Caselet 2
Ram construction and company’s manager like to determine the appropriate specification
for a new
computer. The marketing department will use new computer to create multimedia
presentations for
organization’s sales force. The marketing department will make these
presentations available to
users both on the Internet and through DVDs.
Company manager had also informed Director that company’s information
technology (IT)
department will support only PC-based computers and the Adobe Premiere Pro
video editing DVD
designing software package. Company’s manager insists that Director specifications
conform to
these standards in order to minimize long-term training and support costs.
1. Would you recommend Adobe’s minimum hardware specifications to company’s
manager?
Why or why not?
2. Describe how the business needs shaped the hardware needs in this problem
END OF SECTION B
Examination Paper of Semester III
IIBM Institute of Business Management 5
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
• This section consists of Long Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to
200 words).
1. What do you understand by Computer languages and state its importance?
2. Explain in brief, what do you understand by “Application Software Packages.”
Provide details
about “Spread Sheet Package”.
END OF SECTION C
—————————————————————- ***- ——————————————————-
Business Ethics
Section A: Objective Type (30 marks)
• This section consists of Multiple Choice questions & Short Answer type
questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 5 marks
each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Term used to denote the existence of information of an electronic network of
linked computer
system
a. Information technology
b. Nanotechnology
c. Cyberspace
d. None of the above
2. Egalitarianism is
a. Equal distribution of all benefits & burdens on peoples
b. Equal distribution of all benefits on people
c. Equal distribution of all burdens on people
d. None of the above
3. Justice of blaming or punishing persons for doing wrong is
a. Libertarianism
b. Compensatory justice
c. Retributive justice
d. Socialism
4. Markets in which each individual is able to voluntarily exchange goods with
others
a. Restricted Markets
b. Free Markets
c. Open Markets
d. None of the above
5. The Marxist view of history as determined by changes in the economic methods
by which
humanity produces the materials on which it much live
a. Alienation
b. Immiseration
c. Social Darwinism
d. Historical materialism
Examination Paper of Business Ethics
IIBM Institute of Business Management 2
6. Market in which a single firm is the only seller in the market and which new
sellers are barred
from entering is
a. Pure monopoly
b. Oligopoly
c. Bipoly
d. None of the above
7. Oligopoly markets that are dominated by a few large firms
a. Highly concentrated market
b. Concentrated market
c. Imperfectly competitive market
d. None of the above
8. Ozone depletion is caused by release of
a. Sulfurdioxide
b. Chlorofluorocarbons
c. Carbondioxide
d. None of the above
9. The private internal costs and the wider external costs of engaging in a
particular economic
activity
a. Private cost
b. Market cost
c. Social cost
d. None of the above
10. Acid rain occurs due to
a. Sulfur oxides
b. Nitrogen oxides
c. Both (a) & (b)
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Write short note on “Depletion of Minerals”?
2. Explain Oligopolistic Competition?
3. Write short note on “Immiseration of workers”?
4. What is Retributive Justice?
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Business Ethics
IIBM Institute of Business Management 3
Section B: Caselets (40 marks)
• This section consists of Caselets.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each caselet carries 20 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to
250 words).
Caselet 1
The stakes were high for Gene Elliot, whose on-the-job injuries were estimated
to be serious enough
to merit at least a $2.4 million settlement. But who should pay for his
injuries: Turner Construction
or B&C Steel? Or should he be forced to pay for at least part of his
injuries because of his own
carelessness?
Gene Elliot worked for Mabey Bridge and Shore, a small business that rented
temporary steel
pedestrian foot bridges to other companies. The temporary bridges had to be put
together by the
renter, and Gene Elliot’s job was to go to the site where the steel bridge was
going to be installed,
show the renter how to bolt the bridge sections together and how to install the
bridge over a river or
waterway, and inspect the bridge to make sure it was done properly and
according to Mabey
Bridge’s high standards. Elliot was a devoted hard worker who strove to do
everything possible to
ensure that a bridge installation was successful and according to Mabey’s
standards.
Turner Construction was a general contractor hired to build Invesco Field at
the Mile High
Stadium in Denver, Colorado. Part of the job involved installing a temporary
pedestrian bridge over
the Platte River near the stadium. Turner Construction subcontracted (hired)
B&C Steel to build and
install the bridge, which Turner Construction would pay for. B&C Steel was
a small company that
specialized in putting together and installing steel structures like those
Mabey Bridge rented out.
B&C Steel would pick up the bridge, put it together, and install it for
Turner.
Turner Construction rented the long steel bridge from Mabey Bridge. Mabey
Bridge agreed that
the rental included the services of Gene Elliot, who would be loaned to Turner
to instruct and inspect
the bridge assembly and installation. B&C Steel’s workers picked up the
bridge sections from
Mabey Bridge’s warehouse and drove them to the river but didn’t unload the
bridge sections where
they had to be assembled. B&C then had to move the sections to the correct
site but didn’t plan for
the fence, guardrails, and trolley tracks that were in the way and later had to
work around these
obstructions. B&C Steel began bolting the bridge sections together. When
Elliot inspected the job,
he found the bridge had been bolted together upside down. Elliot made B&C
do the job over, while
he climbed up and down and over the bridge, continuously checking and making
sure that all the
bolts were tight and all the pieces were in the right place so that the
installation would be a success.
When the bridge was finished, B&C workers used a truck to move the long
steel structure to the
edge of the river. Unfortunately, B&C had not adequately checked the route
and their truck hit a low
hanging power line, which sparked and started a fire. The fire department
arrived and put out the
fire. Afterwards, the installation job continued.
B&C workers set up a crane on the other side of the river near a retaining
wall, and a strong nylon
strap was strung from the crane, over the water, and tied to one end of the
bridge, which was set on
rollers. The B&C crane would lift and pull the bridge over the river to its
side, while workers on the
other side of the river pushed on their end of the bridge. The work began, and
as the pulling crane
held the bridge suspended in the air about a quarter of the way over the river,
Elliot noticed that the
retaining wall which was supporting the crane on the other side of the river
was beginning to
collapse, causing the crane to begin to tip sideways. The B&C crane
operator on the other side began
to untie the strap holding the bridge, Concerned that once the strap was cut
the bridge would fall into
the river and the installation would end in failure, Elliot ran up on the
bridge and gave the standard
Examination Paper of Business Ethics
IIBM Institute of Business Management 4
emergency OSHA all-stop signal that all construction workers know means not to
move anything.
But the bridge, still attached to the crane, somehow moved, and Elliot felt,
sustaining numerous
pelvic injuries and a severed urethra (the tube that carries urine). The cause
of the movement was
never established.
Elliot sued Turner Construction and B&C Steel for negligence resulting in
economic losses of
$28,000, noneconomic injuries of $1,200,000, and permanent impairment of
$1,200,000. These
figures were established by a qualified expert in the field of worker injuries
and were not seriously
contested.
Turner Construction, however, denied its responsibility. It claimed that Turner
was Elliot’s
temporary employer and workers’ compensation law required employees to pay only
the economic
looses, here only $28,000, suffered by their employees. Turner Construction
pointed to the law,
which stated: “Any company leasing or contracting out any part of the work to
any lessee or
subcontractor, shall be constructed to be an employer and shall be liable to
pay [only] compensation
for injury resulting therefrom to said lessees and subcontractors and their
employees.” Turner
Construction claimed that Mabey was a subcontractor to Turner, so Turner should
be construed to be
Elliot’s temporary employer. Moreover, Colorado’s worker’s compensation law,
which was
designed to ensure that employers always paid for workers injuries “grants an
injured employee
compensation from the employer without regard to negligence and, in return, the
responsible
employer is granted immunity from common law negligence liability.”
B&C claimed that it, too, was not responsible, because according to the law
a company is not
responsible for negligence when an injury is not “reasonably foreseeable” to
the company. B&C
contended that a reasonable person could not have anticipated that placing the crane
near to the
retaining wall and subsequently attempting to remove the nylon strap holding up
the bridge might
end by prompting someone to get on the bridge in an attempt to save it from
falling into the river. On
the other hand, B&C claimed, since “Elliot chose to remove himself from a
secure and safe position
and placed himself in one that he understood was potentially unsafe,” Elliot
was himself responsible
for his injuries.
Elliot claimed that he was not really Turner’s employee, since he was working
for Mabey. He
also argued that B&C had shown a pattern of negligence from the time that
the bridge was received
until the time that it was installed. B&C and its employees, he said, were
unprepared for the project
and negligently failed to adequately plan for it, as shown by the sequence of
events leading up to his
injury. B&C there fore did not exercise the degree of care that a
reasonably careful person should
have exercised in similar circumstances and so was liable to him for his
injuries. He himself was not
responsible, he said, because good, devoted employee would try his best to
ensure that the bridge
installation did not end in failure, and he would have been perfectly safe if
the standard OSHA allstop
signal had been followed by B&C employees, as he had a right to expect it
to be.
1. In your judgement, and from an ethical point of view, should Turner
Construction and/or B&C
Steel pay for all or part of the $2,428,000 (if part, indicate which part)?
Explain your view?
2. In your judgement, is the Colorado worker’s compensation law to which Turner
Construction
appealed fair? Explain your view?
Caselet 2
Although many people believe that the World Wide Web is anonymous and secure
from censorship,
the reality is very different. Governments, law courts, and other officials who
want to censor,
examine, or trace a file of materials on the Web need merely go to the server
(the online computer)
where they think the file is stored. Using their subpoena power, they can comb
through the server’s
drives to find the files they are looking for and the identity of the person
who created the files.
Examination Paper of Business Ethics
IIBM Institute of Business Management 5
On Friday June 30, 2000, however, researchers at AT & T Labs announced the
creation of
Publius, a software program that enables Web users to encrypt (translate into a
secret code) their files
– text, pictures, or music – break them up like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,
and store the encrypted
pieces on many different servers scattered all over the globe on the World Wide
Web. As a result,
anyone wanting to examine or censor the files or wanting to trace the original
transaction that
produced the file would find it impossible because they world have to examine
the contents of dozens
of different servers all over the world, and the files in the servers would be
encrypted and fragmented
in a way that would make the pieces impossible to identify without the help of
the person who created
the file. A person authorized to retrieve the file, however, would look through
a directory of his files
posted on a Publius-affiliated website, and the Publius network would
reassemble the file upon
request. Researchers published a description of Publius at
www.cs.nyu.edu/waldman/publius.
Although many people welcomed the way that the new software would enhance
freedom of
speech on the Web, many others were dismayed. Bruce Taylor, an antipornography
activist for the
National Law Center for Children and Families, stated: “Its nice to be
anonymous, but who wants to
be more anonymous than criminals, terrorists, child molester, child
pornographers, hackers, and email
virus punks?” Aviel Rubin and Lorrie Cranor, the creators of Publius hoped,
however, that their
program would help people in countries where freedom of speech was repressed
and individuals were
punished for speaking out. The ideal user of Publius, they stated, was “a
person in China observing
abuses of human rights on a day-to-day basis.”
1. Analyze the ethics of marketing Publius using utilitarianism, rights, justice,
and caring. In your
judgement, is it ethical to market Publius? Explain?
2. In your judgement, should the U.S. government allow the implementation of
Publius? Why or
why not?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks)
• This section consists of Long Questions.
• Answer all the questions.
• Each question carries 15 marks.
• Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to
200 words).
1. What is utilitarianism and what are its benefits in business?
2. How market approach to consumer protection benefits consumer?
END OF SECTION C
———————————————————– ***——————————————————
Distribution & Logistics Management
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
„h This section consists of Multiple Choice & Short Note type questions.
„h Answer all the questions.
„h Part one carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. It deals with the movement of finished goods from the last point of
production to the point of
consumption.
a. Marketing Channel Management
b. Logistics Management
c. Boundaries
d. Relationships
2. Which conflict is one of the major bottleneck in the development &
maintenance of partnering
channel relationship
a. Channel conflict
b. Management conflict
c. Logistics conflict
d. Distribution conflict
3. The phase of externally integrated business function era (1990s onwards) is
recognized as the era
of
a. Logistics Management
b. Human Resource Management
c. Financial Management
d. Supply Chain Management
4. ___________ may be conducted from time-to-time or at least once in a year to
know about
change in the expectation levels & actual performance
a. Customer Service Monitoring cell
b. Formal Customer Satisfaction Survey
c. Customer Conference
d. Customer Feedback System
5. The firm.s incomplete or inaccurate knowledge of customer.s service
expectations is known as
a. Market Information Gap
b. Service Standards Gap
c. Service Performance Gap
d. Internal Communication Gap
Examination Paper of Logistics Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
6. This gap exist between the present level of customer service offered and the
corporate vision
about customer service
a. Gap 1
b. Gap 2
c. Gap 3
d. Gap 4
7. This stock refers to window display of an inventory in order to stimulate
demand and act as a
silent salesman
a. Decoupling stock
b. Psychic stock
c. Pipeline stock
d. None
8. This stock is also known as cycle or lot size stock
a. Working stock
b. Safety stock
c. Anticipation stock
d. None
9. In this system manufacturer is given the responsibility for monitoring &
controlling inventory
levels at the retail store level
a. Quick Response
b. Continuous Replenishment
c. Vendor-managed Inventory
d. Customer Relationship
10. This mode of transport is a very significant one but with a very restricted
scope. It is used
primarily for the shipment of liquid & gas
a. Airways
b. Railways
c. Pipelines
d. Seaways
Part Two:
1. What is Containerization and also mention the main features of
Containerization.
2. What is Third Party Logistics?
3. Differentiate between Public & Private Warehouse.
4. What is Logistics Information System?
Section B: Caselets (40 Marks)
END OF SECTION A
Examination Paper of Logistics Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
„h This section consists of Caselets.
„h Answer all the questions.
„h Each caselete carries 20 marks.
„h Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to
200 words).
Caselete 1
Superior Medical Equipment Company supplies electrical equipment that is used
as components in the
assembly of MRI, CAT scanners, PET scanners, and other medical diagnostic equipment.
Superior has
production facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, and Monterrey, Mexico. Customers for
the components are
located in selected locations throughout the United States and Canada.
Currently, a warehouse, that
receives all components from the plants and redistributed them to customers, i
s located at Kansas City,
Kansas. Superior.s management is concerned about location of its warehouse
since its sales have
declined due to increasing competition and shifting sales levels among the
customers. The lease is
about to expire on the current warehouse, and management wishes to examine
whether it should be
renewed or warehouse space at some other location should be leased. The
warehouse owner has offered
to renew the lease at an attractive rate of $2.75 per sq. ft. per year for the
200,000 sq. ft. facility. It is
estimated that any other location would cost $3.25 per q. ft. for a
similar-size warehouse. A new or
renewed lease will be for five years. Moving the inventory, moving expenses for
key personnel, and
other location expenses would result in a one-time charge of $3, 00,000.
Warehouse operating costs are
expected to be similar at any location.
In the most recent year, Superior was able to achieve sales of nearly $70
million. Transportation costs
from the plants to the Kansa warehouse were $2,162,535, and from the warehouse
to customers were
$4,819,569. One million dollars was paid annually as warehouse lease expenses.
To study the
warehouse location question, data shown in Tables 1 and 2 were collected.
Although transport costs are not usually expressed on a $/cwt./mile basis,
given that the outbound
transportation costs for the most recent year were $4,819,569, the weighted
average distance of the
shipments was 1128 miles, and the annual volume shipped was 182,100 cwt., the
estimated average
outbound rate from a warehouse is $0.0235/cwt./mile.
Table 1 Volume, Rate, Distance, and Coordinate Data for Shipping from Plants to
the Kansas City
Warehouse in Truckload Quantities (Class 100) for the Most Recent Year.
PLANT ANNUAL TRANSPORT DISTANCE, GRID
LOCATION VOLUME, RATE, $/CWT. MILES Coordinatesa
CWT.b X Y
Phoenix 61,500 16.73 1163 3.60 3.90
Monterrey 120,600 9.40 1188 6.90 1.00
Total 182,100
aMiles =230 X coordinate
distance bCwt.=100 lb.
Table 2 Volumes, Rate, Distance, and Coordinate Data for Shipping from Plants
to the Kansas City
Warehouse in Truck in 5,000 lb Quantities (Class 100) for the Most Recent Year.
Examination Paper of Logistics Management
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IIBM Institute of Business Management
PLANT
ANNUAL
TRANSPORT DISTANCE,
GRID
VOLUME, Coordinatesa
LOCATION CWT.b
RATE,
$/CWT. MILES X Y
Seattle 17,000 33.69 1858 0.90 9.10
Los Angeles 32,000 30.43 1496 1.95 4.20
Denver 12,500 25.75 598 5.60 6.10
Dallas 9,500 18.32 560 7.80 3.60
Chicago 29,500 25.24 504 10.20 6.90
Atlanta 21,000 19.66 855 11.30 3.95
New York 41,300 26.52 1340 14.00 6.55
Toronto 8,600 26.17 1115 12.70 7.80
Montreal 10,700 27.98 1495 14.30 8.25
Total 182,100
Kansan City 8.20 6.00
Questions:
1. Based on information for the current years, is Kansas City the best location
for a warehouse? If
not, what are the coordinates for a better location>? What cost improvement
can be expected
from the new location?
2. If by year 5 increases are expected of 25 percent in warehouse outbound
transport rates and 15
percent in warehouse inbound rates, would your decision change about the
warehouse
location?
Caselete 2
Personal Care limited (PCL) is a large and premier FMCG company in India with a
turnover of about
Rs 1,200 crore. It has 25 production plants and 10 contract manufacturers
spread over the whole
country, producing about 120 products ranging from personal care to household
goods. Again out of
120 products, about 60 percent have different variants as well as package
sizes.
The company has four own central warehouses situated in the four zones of
north, south, east and west
that receive products from almost all the plants on a regular and consignment
basis in container by
road. These warehouses are responsible for taking care of stocks, order
placement for next arrivals,
loading and unloading, protective storage, stock recording, apart from order
processing and
replenishment of good to distributors of respective zone whose numbers come
around 150 per
warehouse.
After receiving goods from various plants, these warehousing are first entered
into the computer for
inventory recording purposes. Suitable storage location spaces are then
assigned after taking into
consideration the quantity to be stored, the physical dimension,
characteristics of items, frequency of
flow, and availability of the space, which is quite variable and flexible. For
storage of goods, a flexible
racking system is used so that the size of a rack.s space can be changed as per
the size on the product.s
package. Furthermore, racing is back-to-back in pallet blocks which are
5-storied, and in one block
there are about 400 back-to-back racks.
In certain area, for selected heavy weight and bulky items, 50 selectors drive
forklift trucks and in the
remaining area, as many as 350 selectors pick the goods manually and use hand
trolley. Selectors are
normally less educated and highly experienced, who have well-defined areas of
selection.
With this existing system, there have been a lot of practical problems, such as
underutilization of space,
Examination Paper of Logistics Management
5
IIBM Institute of Business Management
traffic congestion in between the racks as one selector blocks another.s
progress while he is picking item
from a location, wrong assortment, difficult to track goods, difficult to fill
one single order as it contains
a variety of items, etc. this result into frequent complaints lodged by
distributors.
Furthermore, a trucker is required to collect items from different places of
the warehouse to make up the
order. Frequently, they have to wait for a full load. Then, the driver has to
collect challan and other
required papers. Normally, this whole process takes seven to ten days, subject
to ready availability of the
goods in stock. In the case of stock-out item, it may goes anywhere between 15
and 30 days. That is why
replenishment cycle time for nearby distributors is about 10-15 days and for
others, it comes to around 3
weeks.
Due to a gradual increase in the quantum of competition and increasing customer
expectations, along
with increasing awareness about the overwhelming contribution of logistics in
cost reduction and service
improvement, the top management of PCL have appointed highly qualified and
experienced
professionals at all four warehouses with the following objectives:
„h To improve the efficiency of the warehouses
„h To reduce the replenishment cycle time by percent
„h To reduce the total logistical costs by 10 per cent
„h To have transparency in dispatch of premium products.
The chief warehouse manager, who joined the north zone warehouse as had a very
successful career of 25
years. He wants to redefine the whole warehouse operating system.
Questions:
