Free Practice Quiz Question List

5 Optimization Basics for Supply Chains Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 5 Optimization Basics for Supply Chains, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

Choose one

1 point

A supply-chain team is choosing shipment quantities and wants to spend as little as possible on transportation while meeting customer demand. Which quantity should its objective function minimize?

A
The amount each supplier can provide
B
Total shipping cost
C
The quantity demanded at each center
D
The nonnegativity of shipment quantities

True or false

1 point

A shipment plan is feasible if it satisfies every constraint, even if another feasible plan has a better objective value.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

In a shipment-allocation model, what are the choices representing quantities shipped on each supplier-to-center route called?

Choose one

1 point

A distribution center must receive exactly its stated demand. How should the model represent the total quantity shipped to that center?

A
Make the center's total inbound shipments less than or equal to its demand
B
Make the center's total inbound shipments greater than or equal to its demand
C
Make the center's total inbound shipments equal to its demand
D
Include the center's demand only in the objective function

Fill in the blank

1 point

Supplier 2 charges $3 per unit to ship to Center A. In a total-cost objective, that route contributes .

Choose one

1 point

A shipment variable is measured in units, and its route cost is measured in dollars per unit. What unit does the resulting transportation-cost objective have?

A
Dollars
B
Units
C
Dollars per unit
D
Units per dollar

True or false

1 point

Unless integrality is specified, a basic linear program can allow fractional shipment quantities.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

A plan ships 10 units from Supplier 1 to Center A, 30 from Supplier 1 to Center B, 10 from Supplier 2 to Center A, and 20 from Supplier 2 to Center B. Route costs are $2, $4, $3, and $1 per unit, respectively. What is the plan's total transportation cost? Enter the exact value in dollars.

Choose all

1 point

Which statements describe a basic linear program with continuous decision variables? Select all that apply.

A
Its objective function is linear.
B
Its decision variables must always be whole numbers.
C
Its constraints are linear.
D
It can represent only decisions to open or close facilities.

Fill in the blank

1 point

If shipments may exceed a stated minimum requirement, use a constraint.

Choose all

1 point

A company wants to model whether to open a warehouse and how many whole truckloads to dispatch. Which modeling changes can represent these requirements? Select all that apply.

A
Use a binary variable to represent whether a warehouse is open.
B
Keep every variable continuous and rely on the objective to force whole-number decisions.
C
Use an integer variable for a quantity that must count whole truckloads.
D
Remove the capacity constraints so the model can choose whole quantities.

True or false

1 point

When forecasts, costs, lead times, or capacities may be uncertain or out of date, teams should validate an optimization recommendation and test how it changes under different assumptions.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

A shipment variable is measured in cases, but the supplier's capacity limit is entered in pallets. What should the modeler address before relying on the result?

A
The model needs more decision variables.
B
The objective should maximize the number of units shipped.
C
The shipment and capacity units are inconsistent unless cases are converted to pallets or vice versa.
D
The capacity should be placed in the objective instead of a constraint.

Open ended

1 point

Formulate a linear program for a shipping problem with two suppliers and two distribution centers. Supplier 1 has capacity 40 units and per-unit costs of $2 to Center A and $4 to Center B. Supplier 2 has capacity 30 units and per-unit costs of $3 to Center A and $1 to Center B. Center A requires exactly 20 units, and Center B requires exactly 50 units. State the decision variables, objective, and constraints.

Choose one

1 point

A supply-chain model decides how many units to ship from each supplier to each distribution center. Which part of the model represents those shipment quantities?

A
The total shipping expense for all routes
B
The quantity shipped from each supplier to each distribution center
C
The maximum capacity of each supplier
D
The requirement that each center's demand be met

Choose one

1 point

A company wants its shipment plan to have the lowest possible total transportation expense. Which model component expresses that goal?

A
The amount available from each supplier
B
The quantity shipped on each route
C
The total transportation expense to minimize
D
The demand required at each distribution center

Choose one

1 point

A distribution center must receive exactly 20 units. Which constraint form best represents this requirement?

A
Use an equality constraint for the demand requirement.
B
Use a less-than-or-equal constraint for the demand requirement.
C
Leave demand out of the model because it is not a capacity.
D
Put the demand requirement only in the objective function.

Choose one

1 point

Under the proportionality assumption of a basic linear program, what happens to a route's modeled cost if its shipment quantity doubles?

A
A route's cost is fixed regardless of how much is shipped.
B
The cost of one route depends on the quantity shipped on every other route.
C
The model automatically restricts each shipment to whole truckloads.
D
Doubling the quantity shipped on a route doubles its modeled cost on that route.

Written response

1 point

A plan ships 20 units from Supplier 1 to Center A, 20 units from Supplier 1 to Center B, and 30 units from Supplier 2 to Center B. The per-unit costs are $2 from Supplier 1 to Center A, $4 from Supplier 1 to Center B, $3 from Supplier 2 to Center A, and $1 from Supplier 2 to Center B. What is the total transportation cost? Enter the numeric value in dollars.

Written response

1 point

An inventory-allocation model must respect a hard limit on how much space is available in each warehouse. What capacity limit should be represented in the model?