Arizona State University (ASU) SCM 300 Global Supply Operations Exam 2 Practice

In a finite population system, the crucial factor is the total number of potential customers in the population, which sets the upper limit on how many can ever join the system. This cap is the finite population size, often denoted by N. It directly reflects the limiting number of potential customers because, as people are served and leave, the pool of outside customers shrinks, reducing possible arrivals and eventually stopping them once the population is exhausted.

Service rate is about how quickly customers can be served, not the cap on who could enter. Arrival rate describes how often new customers come in, but it’s influenced by how many are still outside the system and doesn’t itself represent the maximum possible number. Utilization measures how busy the server is, given arrival and service rates, rather than the limit on potential customers.