Deck 9: Distribution Center,warehouse,and Plant Location

Question 1

Which of the following is false?

A)Pure materials lose no weight in processing
B)With weight-gaining products the processing point should be close to the market
C)Water is a requirement for the location of many facilities
D)A 250,000 square foot distribution center might require at least 50 acres of land for construction purposes
E)All of the above are true

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The general trend in recent years has been for companies to do what with their distribution networks?

A)maintain the status quo
B)reduce the number of facilities
C)slightly increase the number of facilities
D)relocate their facilities

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What two countries account for approximately one-third of the world's population?

A)China and Indonesia
B)China and the United States
C)India and the United States
D)China and India

Answer 3

D

Question 4

____ plants,which are located just south of the U.S.-Mexican border,provide much needed jobs to Mexican workers and allow for low-cost,duty-free production so long as all the goods are exported from Mexico.

A)Expatriate
B)Trade zone
C)Industry cluster
D)Maquiladora

Question 5

A locavore strategy:

A)Is associated with reducing inventory turnover
B)Focuses on hiring local workers
C)Refers to purchasing locally grown or produced foods
D)Is based on the agglomeration concept
E)None of the above

Question 6

Over the past quarter century,discussion of natural resources and facility location has increasingly factored in ____ considerations.

A)cost
B)supply chain
C)ethical
D)environmental

Question 7

Approximately ____ percent of companies have formal requirements that address sweatshop labor.

A)30
B)20
C)10
D)5

Question 8

In 2005,the three most populous U.S.states were located in the West,the Southwest,and ____.

A)Southeast
B)Northeast
C)Midwest
D)Southwest

Question 9

The processing point for a pure material:

A)should be near its source
B)should be near the final market
C)can be anywhere in the world
D)can be anywhere near the source and the market

Question 10

Which labor aspect has emerged as a key locational determinant as supply chains become more global in nature?

A)Wage rates
B)Labor force size
C)Labor force skills
D)Labor force age

Question 11

The initial focus in facility location is on a____.

A)city
B)county
C)state
D)region

Question 12

All of the following are true,except:

A)countries with low labor costs often have a multitude of sweatshops
B)a workforce's union status may be a key locational determinant for some organizations
C)expatriate work assignments can be costly
D)there has been a decrease in maquiladoras since about 2005
E)all are true

Question 13

An expatriate refers to a person:

A)who holds dual citizenship
B)who is sent to work in other countries for extended periods of time
C)who has been stripped of citizenship
D)who has renounced union membership
E)none of the above

Question 14

The processing point for a weight-gaining raw material:

A)can be anywhere near the source and the market
B)should be near its source
C)should be near the final market
D)should be equidistant between the source and the market

Question 15

What region of the United States is likely to exhibit the highest projected population growth?

A)Northeast
B)West
C)Southeast
D)Great Lakes

Question 16

The processing point for a weight-losing raw material:

A)can be anywhere near the source and the market
B)should be near its source
C)should be near the final market
D)should be equidistant between the source and the market

Question 17

Right-to-work laws refer to a situation where:

A)an individual cannot be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment
B)each state provides employment to those people receiving public assistance
C)every person who wants a job is guaranteed a job
D)worker strikes are illegal

Question 18

Which statement is false?

A)The initial focus in facility location is on a region.
B)Because manufacturing plants and warehousing can be very expensive to lease or build,companies are hesitant to close them
C)Poorly located facilities do not impact logistical effectiveness
D)Poorly located facilities negatively impact logistical efficiency
E)All are true statements

Question 19

____ in 2007 caused a number of organizations to bring some production facilities closer to key consumer markets.

A)Deteriorating worldwide economic conditions
B)Record high transportation costs
C)Dramatically higher labor costs in lesser developed countries
D)Record high inventory costs

Question 20

A pure material:

A)is one that loses no weight in manufacturing
B)cannot be mixed with other materials
C)is soluble in water
D)comes from the ocean
E)none of the above

Question 21

Which of the following is not a possible quality of life consideration?

A)weather
B)cost of living
C)crime rate
D)educational opportunities
E)all are quality of life considerations

Question 22

It has been suggested that all things being equal,the best locations are generally those where the best ____ are located.

A)skilled workers
B)warehousing facilities
C)natural resources
D)transportation services

Question 23

The existence of transportation competition,whether intermodal or intramodal,tends to:

A)have cost,but not service,benefits to a user
B)have service,but not cost,benefits to a user
C)have both cost and service benefits to users
D)have neither cost nor service benefits to users

Question 24

Facility location is a logistics/supply chain activity that has evolved from a tactical decision to one of tremendous strategic importance in numerous organizations.

Question 25

How does the weighted center-of-gravity approach to location analysis differ from the center-of-gravity approach to location analysis?

A)the weighted approach considers taxes
B)the weighted approach is less complicated
C)the weighted approach considers shipment volume
D)the weighted approach considers tapering rates

Question 26

A general rule of thumb is that the services received represent only about ____ percent of the taxes paid.

A)60
B)50
C)40
D)30

Question 27

Which of the following is not a possible reason for facility closings?

A)eliminating redundant capacity in mergers and acquisitions
B)poor planning
C)improving supply chain efficiency
D)insufficient volume of business
E)all of the above are possible reasons

Question 28

With respect to commodity flows,logisticians are especially interested in ____ and ____.

A)what is being produced; where it is being produced
B)how much is being produced; where it is being shipped
C)how much is being produced; where it is being produced
D)what is being produced; where it is being shipped

Question 29

The five most populous states in the United States were the same in 1960 and 2005.

Question 30

The initial focus in facility location is on the region.

Question 31

Logisticians and supply chain managers have a particular interest in ____ taxes.

A)real estate
B)corporate income
C)inventory
D)severance

Question 32

The European Union's expansion into Central and Eastern European countries has resulted in Poland and ____ becoming favored distribution sites because of their relatively central location.

A)Czech Republic
B)Switzerland
C)Estonia
D)Austria

Question 33

A "brownfield" is:

A)a term for where crushed boxes are kept before recycling
B)a term that refers to a potential facility site that has no trees needing to be cleared before construction
C)a property for which use and redevelopment is complicated by past use
D)an airport that lacks paved runways

Question 34

The center-of-gravity approach to location analysis minimizes:

A)labor costs
B)warehousing costs
C)taxes
D)distance to existing facilities

Question 35

Turnover rates for expatriate workers currently run between 20 and ____ percent.

A)40
B)35
C)30
D)25

Question 36

A free trade zone refers to:

A)an area that is home to businesses that are owned and operated by large concentrations of a particular ethnic group
B)an area in which products can be stored,exhibited,or processed without being subjected to duties and quotas unless they enter the customs territory of the zone country
C)an area in which the federal government disregards all import and export quotas for products coming from,or destined to,"favored" nations
D)an area outside the legal jurisdiction of federal,state,and/or local governments
E)none of the above

Question 37

Poorly located facilities,such as manufacturing plants and warehouses,negatively impact logistical effectiveness,but have little impact on logistical efficiency.

Question 38

A number of organizations have reconfigured their logistics networks in recent years to bring some production facilities closer to key consumer markets.

Question 39

Supplier parks are a concept that developed around ____ and their suppliers in Europe.

A)supermarkets
B)apparel makers
C)computer makers
D)automakers

Question 40

____ refers to the net advantages which can be gained by a sharing of common locations by various enterprises.

A)Supplier development
B)Agglomeration
C)Supplier relationship management
D)Coopetition

Question 41

The United States has the highest hourly compensation rates in the world.

Question 42

An early step in the facility location decision should involve determining the total number of facilities that a firm should operate.

Question 43

Intermodal competition refers to the number of carriers within a particular mode of transportation.

Question 44

Over the past quarter century,discussion of natural resources and facility location has increasingly factored in supply chain considerations.

Question 45

Transportation considerations,in the form of transportation availability and costs,tend to play a relatively minor role in facility location decisions.

Question 46

The processing point for a weight-losing raw material can be anywhere between the source and the market.

Question 47

Population can be viewed as both a market for goods and a potential source of labor.

Question 48

A pure material is one that is totally water soluble.

Question 49

There are suggestions that inventory taxes may be obsolete by 2015 in part because of lack of agreement as to what is meant by inventory.

Question 50

A locavore strategy focuses on hiring local workers.

Question 51

Sweatshops are organizations that exploit workers and that do not comply with fiscal and legal obligations towards employees.

Question 52

Labor wage rates appear to be a key locational determinant as supply chains become more global in nature.

Question 53

China and India account for approximately one-third of the world's population.

Question 54

Right-to-work laws mean that every person who wants a job is guaranteed a job.

Question 55

An expatriate is a person who holds dual citizenship.

Question 56

Population size is an irrelevant consideration in the facility location decision.

Question 57

The processing point for a weight-gaining raw material should be close to the market.

Question 58

Maquiladora plants have experienced resurgence in recent years because of a focus on manufactured products that depend on fast time to market.

Question 59

Turnover rates for expatriate workers currently range between 20% and 40%.

Question 60

The services received from business taxes represent only about 50% of the taxes that were paid.

Question 61

What would the first-year costs be to AML if they purchased 5 new 40-foot containers? How long would it take to recoup the investment,assuming that the mushroom traffic continued?

Question 62

Grid systems are important to locational analysis because they allow one to analyze spatial relationships with relatively simple mathematical tools.

Question 63

Brownfields refer to a place where flattened cartons are stored until they are recycled.

Question 64

Communication with employees is more important for facility closings than for facility relocations.

Question 65

Centralized facilities tend to minimize total transit distances,which likely results in minimum transportation cost.

Question 66

What would the first-year costs be to AML if they purchased the 10 used 20-foot containers? How long would it take to recoup the investment,assuming that the mushroom traffic continued?

Question 67

The European Union's expansion into Central and Eastern European countries has seen Poland become a favored distribution site because of its relatively central geographic location.

Question 68

Is either of the alternatives covered in questions 1 and 2 riskier? Why?

Question 69

The idea behind a weighted center-of-gravity approach is that a prospective warehousing facility will be located closer to the existing sites with the greatest current demand.

Question 70

Agglomeration refers to the net advantages which can be gained by a sharing of common locations by various enterprises.

Question 71

Quality of life considerations play a limited role in locational decisions.

Question 72

Facility relocation is associated with business growth,while facility closing is associated with business contraction.

Question 73

With respect to commodity flows,logisticians are especially interested in what is being produced and where it is being produced.

Question 74

Government considerations such as the relevant legal system,political stability,and protectionism are important when companies are thinking of facility locations in non-domestic countries.

Question 75

A community can encourage or discourage business activity through changes in the zoning classifications of land.

Question 76

Free trade zones must be adjacent to a port or airport.

Question 77

Supplier parks refer to places where main component makers locate in specially created industrial complexes adjacent to assembly plants.

Question 78

Singh has read about the supply-chain concept that attempts to identify and link all the participants from suppliers' suppliers to customers' customers.Who are all of the participants in the supply chain,a part of which has been discussed in the case?

Question 79

The development and implementation of multicountry trade agreements has had profound impacts on trade patterns.

Question 80

Logistics partnerships involve sharing costs and risks.What are all the costs and risks that this venture entails? How might they be shared?