Q1 .

A. Explain the items e-commerce and his contribution to production and

operation management

E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) Is the buying and selling of goods and
services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the
internet. These business transactions occur either as business-to-business, business-to-
consumer, consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business. Or Electronic Commerce
(e-Commerce) Is a business model that enables a firm or individual to conduct
business over an electronic network. For example someone who buys a car via
internet. His contribution to production and operation management it all about
technology an e-Commerce platform Is a software solution that allows businesses to
create online stores and What you need to have an online store and what exactly is a
shopping cart?do

Shopping cart software is an operating system used to allow consumers to purchase

goods or services, track customers, and tie together all aspects of ecommerce into one
cohesive whole.

Accepting online payments. This usually entails obtaining a merchant account and
accepting credit cards through an online payment gateway (some smaller sites stick
with simpler methods of accepting payments such as PayPal).

B. Explain some of production operations supported by E-Commerce and how

they work

 B2B: The B2B model, business to business, is when a business is selling to

other businesses. Alibaba is an example of a B2B business, as their suppliers
sells to other businesses. Alibaba prices are extremely low as they’re
wholesale prices to allow businesses to make a profit off of their products.
 B2C: The B2C model, business to consumer, involves businesses selling to
consumers. If you decide to open your own online store, you’ll likely be
selling to customers instead of businesses. Amazon, Walmart, and Apple are
examples of B2C businesses.
  C2C: The C2C model, consumer to consumer, is when consumers are selling
to other consumers. Examples of a C2C business model are eBay, Craigslist
and Kijiji. Many of the sellers on those sites aren’t businesses but average
consumers selling products they own whether second-hand or new.

C. Analysis why E-Commerce has not been heavily impressed by those

organization today ?

D. Challenges organization face in E-commerce

1. Security, Fraud and Hacking

It is widely acknowledged by both government and industrial

organizations that, from a consumer point of view, issues of
information security are a major obstacle to the growth of E-
Commerce. The perception of risk regarding Internet security has also
been recognized as a concern for both experienced and inexperienced
users of Internet technologies. This happens because the online
availability and accessibility of the stored data of many corporations
gives any hacker on the Internet the chance to steal data from these
corporate databases.

2. Lack of Verification Measures

Once a customer signs up in an e-commerce portal, the portal is unaware about the
customer except the information he/she entered. the credibility of the customer is
questionable. This heightens when the customer issues a Cash-on-Delivery (COD)
purchase because the business is unsure whether the customer is genuine or not.
These have resulted in huge revenue losses for many e-commerce players.

Solution: This challenge can be brought under control by sending out a textual or/and
email message to the customer to validate his/her identity. And when a COD purchase
is issued, an automated call or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) can be dialed out to
the customer and ask him/her to validate the delivery address. This would not send
out the wrong message to the customers that they are being doubted, and it would
fulfil your purpose as well.

3. Product Returns and Refunds

When products are returned because customers are unsatisfied with the product, it
scars the business with heavy loss on shipment and reputation. Cost of logistics have
always been an issue for e-commerce players especially for those who deliver for
free.

Solution: This cost of operation can be minimized with proper returns management
with seamless interaction platform with logistic partners and vendors.

4. Lack of Integration

Order management system, customer support system, dispatch system, order tracking
system, etc are applications that can streamline the experience of the customer across
the buying journey. But if these systems are disparate it could ruin customer
experience.

Solution: Customer service solutions could integrate with multiple systems

seamlessly, synchronizing available information across all systems and displaying it
in a single interface.

5. Customer Issues Going Unnoticed

Being in an industry where customers can take their business elsewhere in a blink of
an eye, customer service goes a long way. E-commerce business receives a lot of
inbound interaction with more than 75% being complaints or concerns. When these
concerns go unnoticed, it compromises the standard of quality of your business, and
tarnishes your image.

Solution: With proper ticketing solutions and easy to use interfaces, employees are
able to cater to every customer ticket generated at any channel. The efficiency raises
with prioritization measures assigning level of importance to each ticket, making sure
high priority tickets are handled before anything else.
 6. Customer Loyalty

E-commerce industry is an industry where the cost of switching is pretty insignificant.

A lot of players have lost customers because their rivals have a better quality of
customer service, or better discounts. Knowing that 86% of clients stop doing
business with a company because of poor customer service, you need to ensure
customer service is always a priority for your online business and part of your
retention strategy. Customers demand consistent and seamless experiences across all
channels, and players that refuses to deliver fail to retain customers.

Solution: Customer service experience solutions make sure every customer

interaction is under the radar. With effective customer nurturing technology tools and
multimedia integration improves customer retention scores and are more likely to
transform one-time purchasers to brand advocates.

Q2.
A. Explain the contribution in supply chain the management in
today’s business
1. Planning : Planning has a strategic share in SCM. Enterprises need a
strategy for managing all the resources that aim to satisfy customers demand
for their product or service. Much of SCM Planning includes developing a
group of tools for monitoring the supply chain so that it is effective, less costly
and providing high quality to customers.

2. Resources

Enterprises must choose a suitable supplier of the goods and services, they need
for the creation of their product. Supply chain managers must develop a set of
processes of negotiations and communications with suppliers and develop tools
for monitoring and improving their relationships. SCM managers improve the
quality of processes for inventory management of goods and services, income and
control of supply, their translation to the manufacturing facilities and authorizing
supplier payments.

3. Production
SCM managers schedule the activities necessary for production, testing,
packaging and preparation for delivery to customers. This is the most intense part
of the supply chain. Enterprises are able to determine the level of quality,
production output and worker productivity at this stage.

4. Expedition

This is the part in which many SCM managers turning to logistics. Enterprises
execute orders from customers, develop a network of warehouses, prepare means
of transport to shipped products to customers and set the billing system and
receiving payments.

5. Return

It can be the problematic part of the supply chain for many enterprises. Supply
chain managers must create swift and flexible network for receiving erroneous
and surplus products or packaging back from customers and support customers
who have problems with products which were delivered.

Software for supply chain management is probably the most ambivalent group of
software applications in the world. Each of the five main components of the
supply chain, mentioned above, is made up of dozens of specific tasks. Many of
them have their own specific software. SCM software makers gathered all of these
processes and the individual partial software under one roof, but none of them
offer a complete package that would be suitable for any company.

For many companies, it is important to monitor the demand and supply status, the
status of production, logistics and distribution, in other words, the state of the
process in different parts of the supply chain. For effective functioning of the
supply chain is important to share data with partners throughout the supply
chain and in ever increasing frequency. It is necessary to share correct data and
data based on the reality of the process status. For example, if a user inserts into
demand forecasts inaccurate information, gets vague answer. If the employee
simply bypasses the supply chain system and try to execute the matter another
way (using the fax or spreadsheet), then even the most expensive systems will
provide an incomplete image of what is happening in the supply chain.
 B. Explain the challenges affecting supply chain management in
your country
 Most of the minerals produced in the eastern DRC are from
mines which are illegal or part of the informal economy,
and therefore no formal records are kept.
 Smuggling minerals to neighboring countries, including
Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, is commonplace and
encouraged by the fact that the RDC levies export tariffs
on minerals, unlike the other countries in the region. The
smuggled minerals are then reported as local production in
the new countries and sold to smelters on the global
market.
 Metals from multiple mines and other sources are typically
undifferentiated and mixed at various points in the supply
chain, including by traders, exporters, and smelters,
making it extremely difficult to trace their origins
 A supply chain approach may need to address other
concerns in addition to conflict minerals from the DRC,
such as a conflict minerals from other sources, or sources
with significant forced labor or environmental degradation
problems.
 Supply chains for these minerals are very complex,
involving a large number of stages from mine to finished
product, and billions of final items

C. Suggest solution to over coming the above challenges

o A streamlined and efficient supply chain that decreases wastage and

logistics costs.
o Clear data visibility of vaccine availability and quality all the way to
the point of delivery, through appropriate information technology
solutions.
 o State-of-the-art cold chain equipment with ongoing monitoring and
maintenance.
o A professionalized logistics workforce with authority to make supply
chain decisions based on data and actual, on-the-ground circumstances.

o Key performance indicators (KPIs) to promote evidence-based

decision-making, evaluate system performance and guide continuous
improvement.
o Reliable funding and financial flows throughout the supply chain to
enable routine, reliable deliveries of commodities.
o Leadership and political will prepared to initiate and support change.
Q 3.
A . What is demand forecasting and what unique features
distinguish qualitatif from quantitatif forcasting methods.
Demand forecasting refers to making estimations about future customer demand using
historical data and other information. Proper demand forecasting gives businesses
valuable information about their potential in their current market and other markets so
that managers can make informed decisions about pricing, business growth strategies,
and market potential. Without demand forecasting, businesses risk making poor
decisions about their products and target markets. Or Forecasting involves the
generation of a number, set of numbers, or scenario that corresponds to a future
occurrence. It is absolutely essential to short-range and long-range planning. For
example, the evening news gives the weather "forecast" not the weather "prediction."

Qualitative forecasting

Qualitative forecasting techniques are used when there isn’t a lot of data available to
work with, such as for a relatively new business or when a product is introduced to
the market. In this instance, other information such as expert opinions, market
research, and comparative analyses are used to form quantitative estimates about
demand.

QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES
Quantitative forecasting techniques are generally more objective than their qualitative
counterparts. Quantitative forecasts can be time-series forecasts (i.e., a projection of
the past into the future) or forecasts based on associative models (i.e., based on one or
more explanatory variables). Time-series data may have underlying behaviors that
need to be identified by the forecaster. In addition, the forecast may need to identify
the causes of the behavior. Some of these behaviors may be patterns or simply
random variations.

B. What are the merits of using quantitative demand

forecasting marhods

 Helps in effective planning

 Helps in better co-ordination
 Achieves co-operation in entreprises
 Effective control

C. Discuss forcasting methods used in your country

THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE.

The Delphi technique uses a panel of experts to produce a forecast. Each expert is
asked to provide a forecast specific to the need at hand. After the initial forecasts are
made, each expert reads what every other expert wrote and is, of course, influenced
by their views. A subsequent forecast is then made by each expert. Each expert then
reads again what every other expert wrote and is again influenced by the perceptions
of the others. This process repeats itself until each expert nears agreement on the
needed scenario or numbers.

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE.

Nominal Group Technique is similar to the Delphi technique in that it utilizes a group
of participants, usually experts. After the participants respond to forecast-related
questions, they rank their responses in order of perceived relative importance. Then
the rankings are collected and aggregated. Eventually, the group should reach a
consensus regarding the priorities of the ranked issues.
SALES FORCE OPINIONS.

The sales staff is often a good source of information regarding future demand. The
sales manager may ask for input from each sales-person and aggregate their responses
into a sales force composite forecast. Caution should be exercised when using this
technique as the members of the sales force may not be able to distinguish between
what customers say and what they actually do. Also, if the forecasts will be used to
establish sales quotas, the sales force may be tempted to provide lower estimates.

EXECUTIVE OPINIONS.

Sometimes upper-levels managers meet and develop forecasts based on their

knowledge of their areas of responsibility. This is sometimes referred to as a jury of
executive opinion.

MARKET RESEARCH.

In market research, consumer surveys are used to establish potential demand. Such
marketing research usually involves constructing a questionnaire that solicits
personal, demographic, economic, and marketing information. On occasion, market
researchers collect such information in person at retail outlets and malls, where the
consumer can experience—taste, feel, smell, and see—a particular product. The
researcher must be careful that the sample of people surveyed is representative of the
desired consumer target.

D. Explain the importance of demand forecasting as used by an organization

1. Helpful in deciding the number of salesmen required to achieve the sales objective.

2. Determination of sales territories.

3. To determine how much production capacity to be built up.

4. Determining the pricing strategy.

5. Helpful in deciding the channels of distribution and physical distribution decision.

6. To decide to enter a new market or not.

7. To prepare standard against which to measure performance.

8. To assess the effect of a proposed marketing programme.

9. To decide the promotional mix.

10. Helpful in the product mix decisions relating to width and length of product line.