RST, Inc. has been purchasing custom parts from Supplier X for a number of years. RST wishes to exit from its relationship with Supplier X and switch to another supplier. In this situation, which of the following is the BEST course of action for RST to take?

A supply management department obtains executive support to adopt category management. Which of the following is a key step in establishing the categories to be managed?

In which situation would it be appropriate to use time-series data?

RST, Inc. is a global electronics manufacturer which has purchased electronic assemblies from Supplier X for many years. RST has experienced occasional quality problems with these assemblies, and these problems have caused significant delays in production. Because RST's senior management regards Supplier X as a loyal supplier, the firm has not looked to replace it. Nevertheless, RST's supply manager feels that Supplier X has become complacent in Its relationship with RST and is behind the market in important technological advances.
Which of the following should the supply manager do FIRST to convince RST's senior management to re-source the electronic assemblies?

A company is considering a project to develop a nascent technology to harness energy from ocean waves but wants to determine its economic viability. This 10-year project will cost the company $10 million in research and development costs and $25 million to build infrastructure. Each megawatt of energy costs $60 to produce, but the government offers a subsidy of $5 permegawatt. The price per megawatt of energy will be $56 for the next five years, and the company expects to produce 1 million megawatts per year. Ignoring the time value of money (i.e. assuming cash flows across different years are directly comparable), if costs, output, and subsidies remain constant, what will the market price of a megawatt of energy need to be in years six through ten to make this project economically viable?