How does a business get its supplies and manage its stock?
The supply chain and procurement: the role of suppliers, choosing suppliers, managing stock and inventory, just-in-time and just-in-case stock control, and the importance of an efficient supply chain.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on the supply chain and procurement, covering the role of suppliers, how a business chooses suppliers, managing stock and inventory, just-in-time and just-in-case, and an efficient supply chain.
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What this dot point is asking
WJEC wants you to understand the supply chain and procurement (buying supplies). You need the role of suppliers, the factors a business considers when choosing them, how a business manages stock and inventory, the two approaches to stock control (just-in-time and just-in-case), and why an efficient supply chain matters. Operations cannot make anything without the right supplies arriving at the right time, so this topic is about keeping production flowing.
The supply chain and suppliers
Choosing a supplier
Cheap supplies are no good if they are poor quality or arrive late, so reliability and quality often matter as much as price.
Managing stock and inventory
Just-in-time and just-in-case
An efficient supply chain
An efficient supply chain keeps costs down, production flowing and customers supplied on time. Delays or poor supplies anywhere in the chain can stop production, raise costs and disappoint customers, so managing it well is central to operations.
Why this matters
The supply chain links operations to quality (good supplies make good products), to finance (stock ties up cash, and stock control affects cash flow), and to customer service (running out of stock loses sales). The choice between JIT and JIC connects to the production method and the reliability of suppliers. Exam questions often ask you to compare JIT and JIC or analyse how to choose a supplier, where the trade-off between cost, reliability and risk earns the marks.
Try this
Q1. State one advantage and one disadvantage of just-in-time stock control. [2 marks]
- Cue. Advantage: saves storage costs and reduces waste. Disadvantage: relies on reliable suppliers, so a late delivery stops production.
Q2. Explain one factor, other than price, a business should consider when choosing a supplier. [2 marks]
- Cue. Reliability: the supplier must deliver the right amount on time, because a late or wrong delivery could halt production and lose customers (quality is also valid).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC (Unit 1)3 marksExplain what is meant by just-in-time (JIT) stock control.Show worked answer →
A 3-mark AO1 explain question. Reward a clear definition with development.
Just-in-time stock control means a business holds very little or no stock and orders supplies to arrive exactly when they are needed for production.
Develop it: this saves the cost of storing stock and reduces waste, but it relies completely on reliable suppliers delivering on time, because if a delivery is late, production stops at once. Markers reward the definition for the first mark and the developed benefit and risk for the others.
WJEC (Unit 1)6 marksAnalyse the factors a business should consider when choosing a supplier.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark AO1, AO2 and AO3 question. Reward developed factors.
Factor one, price and quality: the supplier must offer materials at a price the business can afford while meeting its quality standards, because cheap supplies that are poor quality would harm the firm's own products and reputation.
Factor two, reliability: the supplier must deliver the right amount on time, especially if the business uses just-in-time, because a late or wrong delivery could stop production and lose customers.
Chain and judgement: a business has to balance price, quality, reliability and other factors such as location and payment terms, and the right choice depends on what matters most to it, for example reliability for a JIT firm. Markers reward developed factors plus a comment on the trade-off.
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A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on methods of production, covering job, batch and flow production, their advantages and disadvantages, the meaning of productivity and efficiency, and how a business chooses a method.
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Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Business specification (Wales) — WJEC (2025)
- WJEC GCSE Business (Wales) specification (3510) — WJEC (2017)