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NSWBusiness StudiesQuick questions
Topic 1: Operations
Quick questions on Global factors and supply chain management in operations (HSC Business Studies)
7short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is global sourcing?Show answer
Global sourcing means procuring inputs from suppliers anywhere in the world. The decision is driven by:
What is economies of scale?Show answer
Economies of scale mean per-unit cost falls as volume rises. The mechanism is spreading fixed costs (factory, equipment, brand investment, R&D) over more units.
What is supply chain management?Show answer
Supply chain management is the coordination and integration of all activities from raw-material sourcing through to delivery to the end customer. It is the operational discipline that turns the global factors above into a working business.
What are worked example: Coles and Woolworths?Show answer
Both supermarkets sent operations executives to study Ocado's automated grocery fulfilment in the UK and Kroger's US online operations. The result was the design specifications for Coles's two Witron-Ocado automated DCs and Woolworths's automated facilities in Auburn and Moorebank. Without the global scanning, the technology choice would have been blind.
What are worked example: Woolworths?Show answer
The Woolworths supply chain runs from approximately 100,000 SKUs, sourced from thousands of suppliers globally and domestically, through more than 30 distribution and fulfilment centres, into around 1,100 stores plus online customers. The 2022 cyclone-related supply pressures and the 2024 supplier-resilience programmes are public examples of operational supply-chain management at scale.
What is cochlear?Show answer
Global sourcing of specialised electronic components (medical-grade chips from Japan, encapsulation materials from Europe). Economies of scale through global sales (around 80 percent share of the global hearing-implant market). Scanning and learning through partnerships with research universities and the international medical-device community.
What is plan?Show answer
Pick Bunnings; cover global sourcing, scale, the DC network, the cost-leadership link, and recent supply-chain pressures.
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