Supply Chain Management

Supply management can be studied as both an instant field of practice and forming academic domain (Storey, Emberson, Godsell, & Harrison, 2006). It was eventually about influencing behavior in particular directions and in particular ways. The fundamental logics, drivers, enablers and barriers asset and exact close attention in supply management. Manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, and wholesalers are the members in supply chain. Supply chain management (SCM) is normally applying in integrated wholesaling and retail businesses (Wisner & Tan, 2000). SCM is comprehensiveness with logistics and physical distribution functions with reducing lead time of delivery. It is a comprehensive philosophy intent on management’s purpose to sustain or establish competitiveness in a quickly growing environment, through more able distribution, and purchasing activities (Cooper & Ellram, 1993; Giunipero &

Success for many organizations depends on the firm’s ability to balance product and process changes while exceeding customer expectations for improved cost delivery and quality. In lieu of these issues firms have started to implement principles of supply chain management. Supply chain management mainly involves managing the flow of incoming materials, manufacturing operations, and downstream distribution has to be in alignment that is responsive to change in customer demands eliminating a surplus of inventory.

Supply-chain management consists of developing a strategy to organize, control, and motivate the resources involved in the flow of services and materials within the supply chain. A supply chain strategy, an essential aspect of supply chain management, seeks to design a firm’s supply chain to meet the competitive priorities of the firm’s operations strategy.

Mellat-Parast and Spillan (2014) defines supply chain management as the method of handling material and information moves from the beginning, through the organization, and to the end-user. This is a very important factor of organizational strategy.

To start, Schroeder, R., Goldstein, S., and Rungtusanatham define supply chain as “the set of entities and relationships that cumulatively define materials and information flows both downstream toward the customer and upstream toward the very first supplier.” Schroeder, R., Goldstein, S., and Rungtusanatham goes on to identify supply chain management as “the design and management of seamless, value-added processes across organizational boundaries to meet the real needs of the end customer.” Organizations have to prepare themselves to the best of their ability in order to provide or their customers. Customers expect to receive the upmost service, regardless of the type of organization they make contact with.

* A company’s competitive position and profitability can be improved through the use of Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) which if successfully implemented will lead to exemplary customer service. (Oz, 2009)

In the past, companies focused primarily on manufacturing and quality improvements within their four walls; now their efforts extend beyond those walls to influence the entire supply chain including customers, customers’ customers, suppliers, and

Supply chain management is a complex undertaking that must involve more than one organization’s efforts to succeed. A tremendous amount of skill, time, and money must be present to build and develop relationships, discover and implement a strategy, and use the capabilities of the chain to build quality at an efficient financial rate. Allowing for these requirements, it leaves one to wonder whether supply chain management is a viable option. The answer is yes, because an organization needs a strong supply chain to compete and be profitable in the marketplace. The key points for supply chain management should be to meet customer demand, produce excellent customer value, enhance responsiveness to change, build a network that can resist risk, and develop financial success.

The purpose of this report is to explain in brief to the Senior Management of a hypothetical supply chain

Chopra, S and Meindl, P (2012). Supply Chain Managment; Strategy, Planning and Operation. 5th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

chain has become a way of improving competitiveness by reducing uncertainty and improving service. One

Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2010). Supply chain management: Strategy, planning and operation (4th ed.).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Understanding supply chain perspectives was a bit more complicated for me. After reviewing the material, I realized that companies need to find ways to differentiate from other companies. Supply chain strategies help companies make their products more desirable by consumers. Once again I concluded that customer satisfaction is the most important KPI in an organization. Just like marketing strategies, supply chain strategies also target customers. They are a chain of dependent activities that, if used consistently, collaborate to target the highest levels of customer service at a lower cost.

Supply chain management plays a very crucial role in the success of any organization and how it can cater to a customer’s need and provide the maximum satisfaction. Supply chain management is essentially managing the flow of goods/services of an organization. It involves raw materials storage, transportation, inventory management, distribution and procurement.

Supply chain management (SCM) is the supervision of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to retailer to the cessation consumer. There are three crucial flows of the supply chain: The product flow, the information flow and the finances flow. SCM involves coordinating and integrating these flows both inside and between