Answer:
a. downstream; upstream
Organizations and activities that are close to the end customer in a supply chain are said to be downstream activities, while organizations and activities that are close to the supplier in the supply chain are said to be upstream activities.
Explanation:
Upstream activities are those activities which bring information, raw materials to your organization in order to turn them into finished goods. Anything coming inside of your organization is simply termed as upstream portion of your entire supply chain.
Whereas, anything which is going out of your organization is defied as the downstream activities, which are mostly finished products. It is the mechanism which helps you reaching your goods to the final consumers in an efficient way. Both upstream and downstream activities are very much important for any organization's supply chain. If managed properly, it can proved you with a sustainable competitive advantage which will be very hard for the competitors to meet.
