Fhyzics brought out this series of articles on supply chain interview questions to help the supply chain aspirants better prepare for supply chain job interviews. Each article will contain fifty questions in one of the supply chain sub-domains and are equally applicable to all industries.
Fhyzics Business Consultants Pvt. Ltd. – a boutique business consulting firm specialising in supply chain management, procurement, business analysis and new product development. Fhyzics offers consulting, certifications, and civil services training and conducts conferences. Fhyzics represents the Association of Supply Chain Management (ASCM/APICS), USA; Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), UK; EEP of International Institute of Business Analysis, IIBA, Canada; REP of International Requirements Engineering Board, IREB, Germany; Indian Affiliate of Product Development and Management Association, PDMA, USA.
1. What is the difference between forecasting and foretelling?
2. Describe the three principles of forecasting.
3. How do the forecasting principles find their place in manufacturing planning and control?
4. What is Qualitative forecasting?
5. What is Quantitative forecasting?
6. Define the Delphi method and how it differs from anonymous Delphi?
7. Describe Box Jenkins’s model of forecasting.
8. What is time series forecasting?
9. What is a weighted average method of forecasting?
10. Describe forecasting techniques.
11. How do the economic leading and lagging indicators support forecasting?
12. Describe the process of demand forecasting.
13. “Forecasting is somewhere between arts and science.” Comment.
14. What is forecast error, and why is it important?
15. What is a tracking signal?
16. What is the role of forecasting error in determining the safety stock of finished goods?
17. What is bias in forecasting?
18. What are random events in forecasting?
19. What are all three forecasting levels in manufacturing planning and control?
20. What are the factors to consider for forecasting at Strategic business planning?
21. What factors to consider for forecasting at the Sales and Operations planning level?
22. What are all the factors to consider for forecasting at the level of Master Scheduling?
23. Describe the importance of forecasting.
24. Why do modern organizations require efficient forecasting?
25. What is the relationship between forecasting and market share for a product?
26. How do you classify forecasting techniques?
27. How do you select a suitable forecasting method for our company? What questions would you ask the stakeholders?
28. Are you aware of the Delphi method? How would you do it if I asked you to perform forecasting using this method for the upcoming new product launch?
29. What is qualitative forecasting?
30. What is quantitative forecasting?
31. Can you describe the three forecasting principles and explain them with examples?
32. Can you elaborate on how the forecasting principles are applied in Manufacturing Planning and Control framework?
33. Are you aware of pyramid forecasting? How is it done?
34. What is CPFR? Do you have any experience?
35. CPFR came in the mid-1990s. Who is the contributor to CPFR, and how is it performed?
36. How do you define a product family? What are all the factors you consider while creating a product family?
37. Could you please describe the causal forecasting technique?
38. Can you describe a simple regression formula with an example using a dependent variable and an independent variable that tracks a parameter in the market?
39. What is multiple regression? Do you have any experience in building such models?
40. Are you aware of the econometric model, and what are all its benefits?
41. When would you adopt a time series forecasting? Describe the favorable conditions required to adopt this type of forecasting.
42. What is seasonality? Do you feel our industry has seasonality? If so, what would be the ballpark seasonal index for the peak period?
43. We deseasonalize sales data and then deseasonalized. What is the reason behind this?
44. Can you think of some products with very high seasonality?
45. Forecasting is always wrong. Comment.
46. Do you agree that the probability theory fails at low volume? What is your understanding of this?
47. What is the law of averages? Where is it helpful in manufacturing planning and control?
48. There are two companies’ “S” and “L,” selling similar products in the same industry and geography. S has a market share of 5%, and L has a market share of 95%. Both companies have well-accomplished forecasters. Who would be forecasting better and why?
49. Describe the weighted moving average method.
50. Describe adaptive smoothing, first-order smoothing, and second-order smoothing.
Would you like to get the answers to all the above Supply Chain Interview questions to better prepare for your Supply Chain Interview?
Deliverables:
1. Answers to all the above 50 questions and
2. Access to LMS for one month
The fifty questions presented above will help the following supply chain job interviews.
Demand Planner; Production Planner; Supply Planner; Supply Chain Analyst; Supply Chain Head; Inventory Controller; Materials Planner; VP Supply Chain; Warehouse Executive; Warehouse Manager; Inventory Analyst; Master Planner; Master Scheduler; Materials Manager; Category Manager; Commodity Manager; Procurement Specialist; Purchasing Manager; Sourcing Manager; Operations Manager; Operations Director; Production Manager; Production Scheduler; Logistics Coordinator; Logistics Manager; Transportation Analyst; Inventory Manager; Director of Supply Chain; Consultant; Buyer Planner; Logistics Resource Planner; Load Planner; Quality Manager; Production Supervisor; Production Operative; Strategic Sourcing Manager; Purchasing and Inventory Clerk; Logistics Administrator; Reverse Logistics Manager; Transport Administrator; Supply Chain Solution Design Analyst; Warehouse Clerk; Production Clerk; Production Technician; Inventory Associate; Export Manager; Capacity Manager; Manufacturing Manager; Plant Manager; VP of Operations; VP of Manufacturing; Supply Clerk; Replenishment Manager; Director of Procurement; Purchasing Agent; Vendor Manager; Fulfillment Associate; Route Manager; Import Manager; Distribution Manager; Director of Transportation; Operations Assistant; Quality Technician; Business Process Analyst; Quality Assurance Engineer; Continuous Improvement Manager; Planning Engineer; Lean, Six Sigma Specialist; SAP Consultant; Import Export Executive; Supply Network Specialist; Material Availability Analyst; Team Manager SCM; SCM Trainer; Sr. Specialist Supply Chain Logistics Management; Sustainable Supply Chain Specialist; Supply Chain Planner; Manager Supply Chain Management Analytics; Procurement Lead; Manager Store; Procurement Professional; Logistics Specialist; Global Delivery Manager; Sourcing Support Specialist; Category Head; Regional Logistics Incharge; Dispatch Incharge; Digital Transformation Leader for Supply Chain; Field Delivery Executive; Indirect Procurement Officer; DC Manager; Regional Procurement Lead; Yard Supervisor; Principal Buyer; Procurement HR; Fleet Coordinator; Supplier Developer; Vendor Consultant; Transportation Analyst; Manager Hub Operations; Supply Chain Planning System Manager;