Week 6 Chapter Questions
7-10. What is Pick-To-Light Technology and How Can it Improve Order Picking?
Pick-to-light technology is an innovation comprising of different forms of lights arranged on racks or shelves in the order picking assembly line (Murphy & Knemeyer, 2014). The organization of the lights helps in identifying the objects required for a particular order. The technology is advantageous because employees simply follow the light from one pick to the next unlike the manual system where employees have to figure out the picking route manually (Wisner, Leong, & Tan, 2015). Moreover, pick-to-light technology leads to fewer picking errors, higher picking rates, and lower employee turnover levels.
7-18. How Do Characteristics Such as Substitutability and Product Life Cycle Stage Influence the Development of Customer Service Goals and Objectives?
The text describes substitutability as the number of items from which a company’s customer can select to satisfy his/her needs (Murphy & Knemeyer, 2014). Companies that operate on a monopolistic policy regarding product manufacturing are believed to have only a few substitutes of the product. Firms that operate on a monopolistic production of an important product are associated with high degrees of customer service because people who need the...
When a company is introducing a new product, it must guarantee an adequate supply of the item in the market to satisfy potential customer demand. Therefore, a firm can utilize expedited transportation to safeguard itself against various situations such as out-of-stock (Wisner, Leong, & Tan, 2015).
13-6. Discuss the Four Factors Used In Determining a Product’s Freight Classification.
There are certain factors used to determine the freight classification of a shipment. These factors include density, stowability, ease of handling and liability to theft or damage (Murphy & Knemeyer, 2014). Freight’s density is greatly related to the shipment costs; some goods may occupy a bigger space but be very light regarding weight. Stowability refers to the ease of storing the goods (Wisner, Leong, & Tan, 2015).
In such a case, the basic concern relates to establishing whether standard methods can facilitate the transportation of the goods or if a custom carrier is needed. The third characteristic relates…
