1

You must provide references for any use of material or data that is not your own. You may not use
“private” references (e.g., “My friend at Amazon told me their logistics costs are $X billion”).
Start each question on a fresh page. All answers must be typewritten with at least 1.5 spacing and font
size 12. Figures (if used) may be hand drawn but must be clear and legible in the submitted pdfs. Write
your name in CAPITALS on each sheet.
Do not submit EXCEL sheets. Only pdfs are acceptable. Ensure that all font sizes are 12 or above! (i.e., at
Least as big as the font on this line)
All formulate used should be shown.
State all assumptions clearly. Define all variables and parameters used.
Short explanations of your answer and reasoning process must be given.
Units must be stated in all numerical answers.
Neatness and legibility will be rewarded!
Good Luck!

2

Q.1 (40 points; Time: 2—3 hours)
What are some of the key challenges in transportation and logistics that Supply Chain leaders currently
face or will face in the near future? (Identify at least five (5) and explain each)
How would you go about preparing for each of the above challenges? (For each, provide at least 3
concrete actions that a company could take or examples of what companies are doing)
(Limit your answer to 2—3 pages. You can use clear bullet points instead of detailed sentences if you like.
Provide references for all the external material you use in your answer)

Q.2 (40 points; Time 2—3 hours)
Amazon is rapidly expanding in Europe. As of November 2013, Amazon had distribution centers in the
top five markets (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain) as shown below. Ignore Italy for this question.

Country
Population
(Millions)
Total E
Commerce
Revenue in
2012
(Bil. Euro)
E
commerce
growth in
2012
Number of
Amazon
Distn
Centers
Number of
Amazon
Distn
Centers
Built after
2008
Amazon
Distn
Centers
Total
Square
Meters
Germany 81 45 +27% 9 6 850,000
UK 62 90 +14% 8 6 470,000
France 65 46 +22% 4 4 270,000
Spain 47 11 +20% 1 1 30,000
Sources: European Multichannel and Online Trade Association, Mwp01VL International Supply Chain
Consulting, Wikipedia
Amazon is evaluating alternative locations for new distribution centers in Spain. You are the planning
director for Amazon Europe.
(A). Identify at least ten key factors that will be driving your recommendation for these new distribution
centers in Spain (the factor, how you will collect the data required, the probability of accuracy of the
data, and the priority for this factor. Priorities are of Type 1 – absolutely key in the decision making;
Type 2 – very important; Type 3 – nice to know but not a key driver. As an example a couple of factors
are listed below (do not reuse them – you will not get points for repetition!)

Factor Data Collection Prob of accuracy Priority Other Notes
Demand History for 2011
and 2012
50% (historical
demand forecast
accuracy)
2
(Ideally demand
but for overall e
commerce
E commerce is
growing rapidly – no
real history and
growth forecasts
3

demand,
population is a
good substitute)
are uncertain
Distance between
potential DCs and
demand locations
Spanish road map
files
99% — highly
accurate, unlikely
to have major new
highway
construction
1 Use top 50
population centers
as surrogate for
demand locations

(B) Briefly (short sentences or bullet points) list the key steps of the process you will go through in order
to make this decision on the number and location of the Spanish Distribution Centers for Amazon.

FOR THIS ENTIRE QUESTION YOU MUST COLLECT ALL THE DATA YOU USE FROM PUBLISHED SOURCES
AND REFERENCE THE SOURCES IN YOUR ANSWER. YOU MAY NOT CONTACT ANY INDIVIDUAL (IN ANY
COMPANY, ORGANIZATION OR CAPACITY) TO REQUEST DATA.

Q.3 (30 points) (1—2 hours)
You are in charge of Logistics for GH Ltd. GH is a large manufacturing company in Denmark that
produces plastic bottles and packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. Last night your Blackberry died
from unnatural causes and you arrived this morning at work at 8 am to find the following 5 emails
(among 25 other not so important ones) in your in—box.
1) From Customs Broker (midnight): A container is stopped in the harbour at Hamburg with a
shipment of rare earth minerals from China because the paperwork you filed isn’t in order.
(Note: These minerals are scheduled to be used in new experimental packaging for one of your
largest customers who will be arriving in three days to test the packaging.)
2) From Manufacturing Manager(6am): Where in the hell is that damn premium freight of Resin
59G??? We shut down Line 4 at noon if it doesn’t get here !!!!
3) From Crisis Center(7am): There is a call for a general strike in Germany tomorrow with potential
blockading of major highways and rail stoppages. There are currently 100 trucks with material
inbound to GH and 75 outbound shipments on rail and truck scheduled to be passing through
Germany tomorrow.
4) From Quality Manager(7:30am): Where are you? Stopped by your office after special VP Quality
mtg at 7. She has decided to hold all production from yesterday for re—inspection after further
analysis confirmed potential contamination in the sample bottles. Where can I hold the 1000+
pallets and where can I locate the re—inspection team?
5) From CFO’s assistant(8:00am): We need the logistics numbers for the planned warehouse in
Amsterdam. When can we expect them?
How do you go about addressing these? In what order? What tasks do you assign to the 4 people on
your staff? What additional information do you request? How do you follow—up?
[Note: I’m looking for prioritization, concise, specific actions, assignment of responsibility and follow—up.
Just a few bullet points and no more than 1—2 pages in total]

1

You must provide references for any use of material or data that is not your own. You may not use
“private” references (e.g., “My friend at Amazon told me their logistics costs are $X billion”).
Start each question on a fresh page. All answers must be typewritten with at least 1.5 spacing and font
size 12. Figures (if used) may be hand drawn but must be clear and legible in the submitted pdfs. Write
your name in CAPITALS on each sheet.
Do not submit EXCEL sheets. Only pdfs are acceptable. Ensure that all font sizes are 12 or above! (i.e., at
Least as big as the font on this line)
All formulate used should be shown.
State all assumptions clearly. Define all variables and parameters used.
Short explanations of your answer and reasoning process must be given.
Units must be stated in all numerical answers.
Neatness and legibility will be rewarded!
Good Luck!

2

Q.1 (40 points; Time: 2—3 hours)
What are some of the key challenges in transportation and logistics that Supply Chain leaders currently
face or will face in the near future? (Identify at least five (5) and explain each)
How would you go about preparing for each of the above challenges? (For each, provide at least 3
concrete actions that a company could take or examples of what companies are doing)
(Limit your answer to 2—3 pages. You can use clear bullet points instead of detailed sentences if you like.
Provide references for all the external material you use in your answer)

Q.2 (40 points; Time 2—3 hours)
Amazon is rapidly expanding in Europe. As of November 2013, Amazon had distribution centers in the
top five markets (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain) as shown below. Ignore Italy for this question.

Country
Population
(Millions)
Total E
Commerce
Revenue in
2012
(Bil. Euro)
E
commerce
growth in
2012
Number of
Amazon
Distn
Centers
Number of
Amazon
Distn
Centers
Built after
2008
Amazon
Distn
Centers
Total
Square
Meters
Germany 81 45 +27% 9 6 850,000
UK 62 90 +14% 8 6 470,000
France 65 46 +22% 4 4 270,000
Spain 47 11 +20% 1 1 30,000
Sources: European Multichannel and Online Trade Association, MWPVL International Supply Chain
Consulting, Wikipedia
Amazon is evaluating alternative locations for new distribution centers in Spain. You are the planning
director for Amazon Europe.
(A). Identify at least ten key factors that will be driving your recommendation for these new distribution
centers in Spain (the factor, how you will collect the data required, the probability of accuracy of the
data, and the priority for this factor. Priorities are of Type 1 – absolutely key in the decision making;
Type 2 – very important; Type 3 – nice to know but not a key driver. As an example a couple of factors
are listed below (do not reuse them – you will not get points for repetition!)

Factor Data Collection Prob of accuracy Priority Other Notes
Demand History for 2011
and 2012
50% (historical
demand forecast
accuracy)
2
(Ideally demand
but for overall e
commerce
E commerce is
growing rapidly – no
real history and
growth forecasts
3

demand,
population is a
good substitute)
are uncertain
Distance between
potential DCs and
demand locations
Spanish road map
files
99% — highly
accurate, unlikely
to have major new
highway
construction
1 Use top 50
population centers
as surrogate for
demand locations

(B) Briefly (short sentences or bullet points) list the key steps of the process you will go through in order
to make this decision on the number and location of the Spanish Distribution Centers for Amazon.

FOR THIS ENTIRE QUESTION YOU MUST COLLECT ALL THE DATA YOU USE FROM PUBLISHED SOURCES
AND REFERENCE THE SOURCES IN YOUR ANSWER. YOU MAY NOT CONTACT ANY INDIVIDUAL (IN ANY
COMPANY, ORGANIZATION OR CAPACITY) TO REQUEST DATA.

Q.3 (30 points) (1—2 hours)
You are in charge of Logistics for GH Ltd. GH is a large manufacturing company in Denmark that
produces plastic bottles and packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. Last night your Blackberry died
from unnatural causes and you arrived this morning at work at 8 am to find the following 5 emails
(among 25 other not so important ones) in your in—box.
1) From Customs Broker (midnight): A container is stopped in the harbour at Hamburg with a
shipment of rare earth minerals from China because the paperwork you filed isn’t in order.
(Note: These minerals are scheduled to be used in new experimental packaging for one of your
largest customers who will be arriving in three days to test the packaging.)
2) From Manufacturing Manager(6am): Where in the hell is that damn premium freight of Resin
59G??? We shut down Line 4 at noon if it doesn’t get here !!!!
3) From Crisis Center(7am): There is a call for a general strike in Germany tomorrow with potential
blockading of major highways and rail stoppages. There are currently 100 trucks with material
inbound to GH and 75 outbound shipments on rail and truck scheduled to be passing through
Germany tomorrow.
4) From Quality Manager(7:30am): Where are you? Stopped by your office after special VP Quality
mtg at 7. She has decided to hold all production from yesterday for re—inspection after further
analysis confirmed potential contamination in the sample bottles. Where can I hold the 1000+
pallets and where can I locate the re—inspection team?
5) From CFO’s assistant(8:00am): We need the logistics numbers for the planned warehouse in
Amsterdam. When can we expect them?
How do you go about addressing these? In what order? What tasks do you assign to the 4 people on
your staff? What additional information do you request? How do you follow—up?
[Note: I’m looking for prioritization, concise, specific actions, assignment of responsibility and follow—up.
Just a few bullet points and no more than 1—2 pages in total]