Interview: Quality Assurance Integration With Supply Management
You are working for a manufacturer of a specialized guidance system for the latest jet fighter aircraft used by several branches of the military. Your current position is as a senior supply management specialist reporting to the Vice President of Purchasing. She asks for your help in developing a series of questions to be used in interviewing and hiring a new junior buyer, an entry level position. You have agreed that the successful candidate will have 0-2 years of experience and a bachelor's degree in a related field. Most importantly, the new hire must have an excellent grasp of the current vocabulary and tools used in the professional practice of supply management. Knowing that you have recently completed at least one course in supply management, she now asks that you provide written answers to the questions so that the other interviewers can judge the candidates' knowledge. The questions are:
• Give examples of at least three different job titles within supply management and explain how they contribute to the success of an organization.
• Choose one department in a company (such as legal, logistic, operations, quality assurance, etc.), and explain how the company benefits from a facilitated integration of supply management with this internal partner.
• Explain the role that supply management plays in achieving sustainability goals in an organization.
• Select at least five items that would be considered when determining the total cost of ownership (TCO) for a piece of capital equipment. Classify each item as being either a positive or negative value if asked to complete the calculation.
• Name at least three characteristics that you share with professional negotiators. Explain why you believe each is important to your role in supply management.
• Select one method of using data to choose a new supplier. Summarize why you believe this is an appropriate, fair, and consistent method of conducting business.
• List at least three special considerations when seeking international sources of materials. Compare how each differs from doing business only within the United States.
• Explain the application of at least three types of fixed-price contracts. Determine the implications for the supplier and the purchaser for each type.
Your Summative Assessment
• Must be 1800-2400 words (excluding title page and references page) in length, double-spaced and formatted according to APA style. Contextual (Level One)headings must be used to organize your paper and your thoughts. Must include a title page with the following:
o Title of paper
o Student's name
o Course name and number
o Instructor's name
o Date submitted
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must utilize a minimum of 5 scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources in addition to the textbook. Must document all sources in APA style
• Must document all sources in APA style
• Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style
One of the textbook for reference
Monczka, R., Handfield, R., Giunipero, L., & Patterson, J. (2016). Purchasing and supply chain management (6th ed). Retrieved from https://www(dot)vitalsource(dot)com
Interview Questions
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Interview Questions
Introduction
An interview is a formal meeting in which one person or a group of people evaluate another person through the use of questions. Job interviews give organizations an opportunity for finding suitable candidates for different positions in the organization. Normally, interviewers have to set the questions they will use in evaluating the participants, the issues ought to be relevant so that they can effectively unearth the required information about candidate’s relevant experience. This paper provides answers to questions used in interviewing a junior buyer at an entry position.
Q1. Job titles within supply management
Supply management process involved different expertise; one such is a material analyst; his or her duties include: managing inventory levels, scheduling activities, receiving, coordinate the forecasting and purchasing process as well as warehousing activities (Kovács & Pató, 2014). Material analysts are important in an organization since they work together with engineering team to determine the effects that may occur on a product as a result of changes in materials. They also, improve the processes of production in an organization.
Also, a production analyst plays a major role in the supply chain. Their role includes; coordinating production schedules, determining the resources and materials required, maintaining the standards of products, forecasting labor requirement and also he or she may manage the inventory or output of the finished goods. Usually, production analyst is essential in an organization since they ensure that production processes run smoothly and the product produced to meet the required standards. Also, an inventory specialist plays essential roles in supply management. He or she determines the inventory required in production, analyzes seasonal demand and sales and resolve issues related to inventory. Inventory specialist works to optimize inventory levels depending on the warehousing, replenishment time and cost as well as cost of inventory.
Q2. Quality assurance integration with supply management
Quality control department is essential in any organization that is involved with production activities. This department is mandated to ensure that every production procedure is followed and that all the necessary procedures that facilitate safety are strictly followed. Also, the department ensures that the production processes and the products produced meets the required standards and specifications (Sarkar, 2017). This department is also responsible for the installation of new machinery as well as proper maintenance of the existing machinery used in production.
Integration of quality control with supply management provides benefits to the organization. These advantages may include: help in detecting defects and scrap; if the raw materials used in production are fallacious, then the entire production process can become inefficient and raise the rate of finished goods turning faulty. Additionally, inferior materials are likely to require refining which will increase the workload of the employees and increase the manufacturing cost. A quality control department helps in auditing and inspecting the materials provided by the vendors and ensuring that materials meet the required specification (Sarkar, 2017).
Quality control department plays critical role in inspections of the production line. Companies without a quality control department are likely to experience large quantities of defects and other wastes which may result during manufacturing processes. To avert this, companies implement manual inspections to ensure that the standards of the products are meet. Usually, the manual inspections increase the operating costs which can be prevented if there is a quality control department functioning properly. Quality control procedure is critical in ensuring that continual inspections of the production line are avoided thus saving labor which can be used in other value-added activities.
More so, quality control helps in preventing external failures. Usually, when the quality control department is not functional, the produced products will wear out or break down before their warranty period expires. There are many failures that can result once the product is out of the manufacturing facility. Sometimes, the customers who return the worn out products may lose respect for the company which produced these products which further impacts on the profit made by the company (Sarkar, 2017). A quality control department may help in preventing the reputation of the company by establishing better control of the supplier inputs and reducing the risk of returns.
Q3. Role that supply management play in achieving sustainability goals
Supply chain sustainability involves the management of social, environmental and economic impacts and ensuring that good governance practices are performed throughout the production process. The objective of sustainability is protecting the long-term social, economic and environmental value of the stakeholders who provide services and products (Mathivathanan, Kannan & Haq, 2017). Notably, companies are taking actions which will facilitate better economic, social and environmental impacts since the customers and the society expect that, and it has added business advantages.
To achieve the sustainability goals supply management plays different roles, these may include; understanding and providing information about the external landscape. Apart from identifying the drivers of the business, supply management can also help the company to understand essential factors such as approaches used by peer companies and the expectations of the stakeholders. Also, benchmarking against the competitors can also provide the company with a more sophisticated understanding of the values of the business (Fleming, Wise & Sams, 2017).
Additionally, supply management may also establish a clear vision and the objectives of the company. Clear articulation of the objectives and the vision helps in defining the company’s commitment and also aids in evaluating the success of the company in meeting the sustainable goals and identifying the areas that require improvement. Additionally, it is important to consult all stakeholders who are involved in supply management processes such as logistics, quality assurance, and environment to ensure that every member is aware of the commitment of the company towards sustainable development.
Q4. Total cost of ownership
The total cost of ownership ‘TCO’ is an analysis done with the aim of placing a single value on the lifecycle a capital equipment. Normally, TCO includes the purchase price plus the cost of operation. When making purchases, buyers ought to consider both the short-term price and the long-term price ‘total cost of ownership’ (Visani, Barbieri & Lascio, 2016). One of the items necessary to considers is the storage; in some cases, the cost of storing an item may more than the cost of purchasing an item. It is therefore important to optimize the storage facilities to reduce the costs incurred during storage, and it is a negative value.
Another essential factor to consider is training. Sometimes an equipment may be purchased which requires specia...