Deck 7: Materials Management and Handling in the Supply Chain

Question 1

Which of the following materials handling events occurred first (i.e., earliest) in the historical development of materials handling management?

A) Collapsible cardboard boxes are introduced.
B) Materials handling courses and laboratories begun at major U.S. universities.
C) Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is passed.
D) Patent issued for barcoding.
E) Use of pallets begins.

Answer 1

Use of pallets begins.

Question 2

Equipment can be categorized according to the functions performed. Which of the following would not be a category of materials handling equipment?

A) Manual.
B) Receiving.
C) Sortation.
D) Storage.
E) Shipping/transportation.

Answer 2

Manual.

Question 3

Electric reach and deep reach forklift trucks, order-selector trucks, sideloaders, and turret trucks would be examples of which class of forklift trucks?

A) Class 1: Electric motor ride forklifts.
B) Class 2: Electric narrow aisle forklifts.
C) Class 3: Electric hand pallet jacks or walkie forklifts.
D) Class 6: Electric and internal combustion engine tractor forklifts.
E) Class 7: Rough terrain forklift trucks.

Answer 3

Class 2: Electric narrow aisle forklifts.

Question 4

Storage and order-picking equipment includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Drawers and bins.
B) Lift trucks.
C) Storage racks.
D) Shelving.
E) Transportation vehicles.

Question 5

The storage of odd-shaped or crushable parts would require the use of which type of storage equipment?

A) Cantilever racks.
B) Conventional pallet rack.
C) Drive-through racks.
D) Gravity flow racks.
E) Pallet stacking frames.

Question 6

It has been estimated that __________ activities represent between 50 and 75 percent of warehouse operating costs.

A) Order picking.
B) Shipping of products.
C) Slotting.
D) Sorting.
E) Transporting.

Question 7

Which of the following types of automated equipment would likely be utilized in situations where there is very high storage density of products and computers control the equipment?

A) Car-in-lane.
B) Horizontal carousels.
C) Man-ride machines.
D) Unit load AS/RS.
E) Vertical carousels.

Question 8

In materials handling, the transportation and shipping activities are typically performed in combination with storage, order picking, and sorting. The three most often used pieces of equipment are:

A) Conveyors; automatic guide vehicle systems; operator-controlled trucks or tractors.
B) Horizontal carousels; man-ride machines; conveyors.
C) AS/RS; operator-controlled trucks or tractors; automatic guided vehicle systems.
D) Vertical carousels; man-ride machines; AS/RS.
E) Vertical carousels; AS/RS; conveyors.

Question 9

Which of the following technologies does not provide real-time location data?

A) Bar codes
B) GPS
C) RFID
D) Voice technology
E) All of the technologies would provide real-time location data.

Question 10

The Uniform Product Code (UPC) contains 12 machine readable digits that identify __________ and __________.

A) Country of origin; manufacturer.
B) Industry category or type; items.
C) Items; manufacturer.
D) Manufacturer; product creation date.
E) Items; product expiration date.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is incorrect as it relates to the use of global positioning systems (GPS)?

A) GPS allows better asset tracking to reduce inventory costs and product stock-out costs.
B) Increases visibility of products in the supply chain utilizing computers until the technology has advanced sufficiently to allow the use of smartphones and mobile GPS.
C) Locating and tracking products in the supply chain is possible.
D) Provides up-to-the-minute information to customers on product availability and location.
E) Reduces product theft from containers.

Question 12

__________ is where products are picked one item at a time until the entire order has been picked.

A) Batch picking.
B) Discrete picking.
C) "Pick and pass."
D) Wave picking.
E) Zone picking.

Question 13

Which picking method almost always involves the use of multiple personnel, rather than a single individual or piece of equipment?

A) Batch picking.
B) Discrete picking.
C) "Pick and pass."
D) Wave picking.
E) Zone picking.

Question 14

Which of the following statements about voice technology is FALSE?

A) The payback period for the installation of voice technology systems is lengthy due to the cost of the equipment and software to support it.
B) The use of voice technology in warehouses and DCs is increasing.
C) Voice technology can be implemented by firms of all sizes.
D) Voice technology can improve productivity and accuracy in materials handling.
E) Voice devices are available in multiple languages.

Question 15

Within the general functions of packaging, specific functions are performed. One of those specific functions is "apportionment," which can be defined as:

A) Allowing products to be used with little wasted effort by customers.
B) To protect the contents of the package from damage or loss.
C) Translating the large output of manufacturing into smaller quantities of greater use to customers.
D) The use of unambiguous, readily understood wording, symbols or pictures.
E) None of the options are definitions of apportionment.

Question 16

Pallets are used to move and stores products and can be made from a variety of materials. The majority of pallets are made from:

A) Cardboard.
B) Corrugated paperboard.
C) Metal.
D) Plastic.
E) Wood.

Question 17

Target Stores, for its Archer Farms brand, began selling ready-to-eat cereal in a reclosable "easy-pour" container. This would be an example of good packaging because the package provides benefits to Target and its consumers. Which of the following would be one of the potential benefits to Target Stores and/or its customers?

A) Consumers do not like change and may not purchase the product.
B) Freshness of the product might be lessened over time compared to traditional packaging.
C) May have possible negative environmental implications if the product is not recycled by consumers.
D) Less waste of the product due to spillage.
E) The new package might be more costly to produce.

Question 18

Which of the following statements about packaging is FALSE?

A) Consumers throw away less packaging today than they did 20 years ago.
B) Packaging is not the major contributor to the solid waste problem.
C) Packaging materials cannot be recycled indefinitely.
D) Plastics are recyclable.
E) The terms recyclable and recycled content are synonymous.

Question 19

Which company introduced a packaging scorecard and the "Sustainable Packaging Playbook" for its suppliers in an effort to reduce packaging waste?

A) Ace Hardware
B) IBM
C) McDonald's
D) Target Stores
E) Walmart

Question 20

Many factors govern good package design. For a computer manufacturer, which of the following package design factors would be most important?

A) Handling ability.
B) Pricing (cost).
C) Product packability.
D) Protective level.
E) Standardization.

Question 21

There are two primary goals associated with the handling and management of materials by individual firms or by multiple firms in the supply chain: minimize cost; and optimize customer service.

Question 22

Workers in retail stores, warehouses or manufacturing facilities lose the equivalent of one full 40-hour workweek per year if they spend only 10 minutes a day searching for and gathering needed items.

Question 23

Small firms are unable to implement any automated materials handling systems because of their cost.

Question 24

Car-in-lane materials handling equipment is best used where there are small quantities of a large number of SKUs.

Question 25

From a materials handling perspective, shipping of products to customers involves preparing items for shipment and loading them onto transportation carriers.

Question 26

Unit-load AS/RS systems and mini-load AS/RS systems are the same; the terms are interchangeable.

Question 27

A general rule of thumb is that in low interest rate environments, if a purchase involves buildings or land, buy it; if the purchases involves equipment, lease it.

Question 28

Major disadvantage of conveyors includes inaccurate order fulfillment, poor reliability and lack of flexibility once they are installed.

Question 29

Sortation devices in material handling are usually classified by the speed of their operation: slow, medium, or high speed.

Question 30

The major advantages of conveyors include relatively low cost to acquire, efficient handling/flow, speed, and reduced costs.

Question 31

One form of an AS/RS is the carousel, which is a mechanical device that houses and rotates items for order picking.

Question 32

An automatic guided vehicle system (AGVS) requires a driver (i.e., it is not driverless) as it moves through a facility over defined paths.

Question 33

Fixed-position bar code scanners identify each carton on a conveyor and send that information to the sortation system controls, which then sends the carton to the correct location for shipment to customers.

Question 34

With respect to information transfer, the movement and storage functions require computerization at the electronic level, which requires computer-to-computer interface and involves data transmission. At the electronic level, machines and equipment are utilized.

Question 35

In Amazon distribution centers, robots bring the products to the worker rather than the worker going to the product slotting location or the items.

Question 36

RFID tags can be either active or passive. Passive tags have a power source and can transmit signals.

Question 37

A warehouse management system (WMS) keeps track of inventory in warehouse or distribution center and administers tasks such as receiving, putaway, storage, and order picking.

Question 38

Voice technology is increasing in its implementation because it frees the picker's hands and eyes. However, it is limited in that the present level of technology only involves the use of the English language.

Question 39

Packaging serves two primary functions with the supply chain: marketing and logistics.

Question 40

A major advantage in the use of pallets in materials handling is that all pallets are of uniform size, which greatly facilitates domestic and international storage and transportation of materials.