Exam CBAP All QuestionsBrowse all questions from this exam
Go to Exam
Question 346

A major manufacturer of popular beverages has appointed a local distributor to serve a specific territory. The demand for the beverages has a pronounced seasonal pattern. The distributor performs well overall, but is repeatedly unable to keep up with fulfilling many customer orders during peak demand periods. The distributor's current delivery capability is stretched to deliver 60 tons of merchandise per day whereas the season's peak demand periods need a daily delivery capability of up to 100 tons.

The distributor is under pressure to fully meet the year-round market demand in order to stay in business. The distributor's management wants to identify and consider more cost-effective options as resorting to adding more trucks and drivers would not be economically feasible.

A business analyst (BA) has spent several days observing and measuring the warehouse activities to understand the situation and to gain insights into possible solutions. The delivery workflow is a four-step process: (1) picking the orders and assembling them on trays, (2) bringing the trays to the loading bay, (3) loading the orders into trucks, and (4) delivering the orders to customers. As the following table illustrates, overall performance depends is dependent on five major resources: (1) the workers who pick the orders and load them into trucks, (2) the tallyers who check the orders, (3) the drivers, (4) the trucks, and (5) eight loading bays (LBs).

Preparing a customer order for loading takes about one hour. Upon the BA's observation, only 30% of trips have their orders available for loading when a truck arrives. This causes a waste of both the truck's and the driver's time.

What should the BA recommend to eliminate such waste?

    Correct Answer: A

    The best recommendation is to elicit requirements for a system to coordinate in advance order processing activities with all trips. This option addresses the root cause of the problem, which is the inefficient coordination between order assembly and truck arrivals leading to wasted time for both trucks and drivers. By implementing a system to ensure that orders are ready when trucks arrive, the distributor can more effectively manage the workflow and reduce waste. This solution is more sustainable and efficient in the long-term compared to the other options, which either offer short-term fixes or are not economically feasible.

Discussion
OmojesunOption: A

Yes I think the answer is A

ChykaOption: A

does anyone think A?

Kakashi_Sensei

Eliciting requirements will not eliminate waste. I think the best answer is B

Chyka

I changed my mind to B, actually to elicit requirement cannot be a recommendation.

OlivierPaudexOption: A

I will go with Answer A - Elicit requirements for a new system. Answer B is OK, but if the workers don't know what to prepare in advance, the problems will still remains. A managed system will be much better to coordinate.

CapieOption: B

B - From the write up they are looking for a cost-effective measure to meet customer's demand, so hiring more staff is not cost-effective, also the BA has already elicited requirement by doing a passive observation of the process, what is next for him is to make a recommendation based on his findings.

siliconvalleykamOption: A

Yes I think A is the answer as we are proposing

RabbitsfootOption: A

Question says to 'eliminate waste' and not asking for a quick fix or temporary fix etc. Option A proposes a systematic solution that addresses the root cause of the problem by improving coordination between order processing and truck arrivals. It aims to create a more efficient and sustainable workflow that can prevent downtime in the long term. On the other hand, option B provides a quick fix by starting assembly for the next trip immediately, which may reduce waiting time temporarily but does not address the underlying issue of inefficient coordination between processes. This solution might only provide short-term relief without effectively resolving the problem in the long run. Therefore, option A is more likely to be cost-effective and beneficial in the long term compared to option B and the more correct answer in my opinion. It aligns more with BABOK core concepts than any of the other options provided.

xiaoyangwuOption: A

Need a IT system to coordinate the flow more effective

[Removed]Option: C

I would choose C because there is mentioned only trucks and drivers, not workers: "as resorting to adding more trucks and drivers would not be economically feasible." Why not B: because we don't have information if workers have the capacity to assemble orders But, I'm not sure, just opinion

rupakarthik

BA recommendation can be B or C

rhsdealOption: C

The question is asking for a recommendation. The workers have a capacity of 89 tons per day the tallyers 74 tons per day where as the trucks have 101 tons per day. The capacity needs increased for the staff.

rhsdeal

Th answer is C - Hire more staff!

Gilism

The distributor's management wants to identify and consider more cost-effective options as resorting to adding more trucks and drivers would not be economically feasible.

Gilism

"B" - Begin assembling orders for the next trip immediately following the truck's departure, that will reduce redundancy and inefficiency