Architectural Knowledge And Modular Knowledge

Supply chains manage the movement of products from the acquisition of raw materials through production and finally distribution to the end user. A properly designed supply chain can create many opportunities to drive down cost and increase revenue opportunities. In order to create a supply chain that is sustainable and flexible it is necessary to identify and align company goals and initiatives with the manufacturing and distribution of products.

For instance, the linkage between the Riordian Electric fan development management process and the Supply Chain Management process is bi-directional: on one side, the product development process feeds the Supply Chain Management process with the electric fans introduction plans and engineering change notices on bill of materials and routings, while in return the Supply Chain Management process provides the product development process with the supply chain constraints that need to be considered when scheduling the development of fans, in order to make sure that these products will hit the market at the right time. It will provide the Riordan Manufacturing an edge in the market over other rival companies. (Chase, 2006).

Andrews, J. (2014, October 9). The Importance Of Supply Chain Collaboration [Web log post]. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from http://www.supplytechnologies.com/blog/the-importance-of-supply-chain-collaboration

For a complete understanding, the game is played not only within a supply chain, but two or three supply chains are set up (when there are enough players and volunteers to help). In real life, more than the understanding one gets by playing as different entities in a single supply chain, it is the learning when supply chains compete with each other that makes clear the real strategic

Supply chain networks are important because they help company’s remain consistent with the consumer buying pattern changes. Companies often seek new channels to market their product. The company utilizes analytics to identify different ways to present their product to the consumers and how the supply chain would need to operate for each case. They determine the optimal strategy to determine the overall strategy based upon the product being produced. For example, the supply chain for a tablet will differ from that of a candy bar. The delivery of the tablet is produced on a time sensitive basis because of the ever changing demands of the high tech consumer market. The supply chain network design allows for organizations

The end result is as supply chain design may ultimately be the competitive advantage as much as the product it produces. Supply chain design must now be part of the overall strategy for an organization rather than something that “just happens”.

Many companies produce products from parts of raw materials that are purchased from suppliers, till these products are reach the markets and presented for the customers, then you have the supply chain starting from the purchase of raw material from different areas , through the manufacturing steps and stages till is being sold by the consumer. Some of supply chains are well defined and easy to determined, while there are other supply chains complex to analyze. However, supply chains vary with the size of the facility such as; complexities, performance, abilities, flexibility, quality, speed, dependability and cost of preparing goods for manufacturing and the chain length distribution. So the supply chain is a network of wholesalers, retailers, distributors, workers in the transport, storage facilities, suppliers, and manufacturers who participate in the production, delivery and sale of the product to the last consumer. A supply chain is a group of facilities that coordinate activities among it and to avoid the competitors. Moreover, to ensure the supply chain management is operating efficiently and generating the highest level of customer

Supply chains represent the procurement, production and distribution activities of an organisation. Within a supply chain, these activities are viewed as linked and reliant on one another to produce the final outcome. It is believed that if one component of the chain fails, the whole chain is broken and product/service delivery goals will not be achieved.

Product characteristics are found to have major influences on supply chain design and planning (Novak & Eppinger, 2001; Salvador, 2002; Fixson, 2005; Caridi et al., 2010; Hashemi & Butcher, 2011). Yet to date, this is not well covered in the scholarly literature (Khan & Creazza, 2009; Caridi et al., 2009; Pero et al., 2010). There are different approaches to investigate this association, but a general concurrence within this body of work suggests that closer cooperation between product design management and supply chain management functions will enhance the performance of supply chains and reduce risk and uncertainty.

Based upon his ten years research on supply chain issues in diverse industries such as food, fashion, apparel and automobiles he devises a framework which will help

The position of relationships between firms have changed from a supply chain to a supply network. Understanding position and role in network is the key factor of achieving value, and the way that its purposes are related to the network’s overall effectiveness

“Supply network design involves configuring the shape and capabilities of one’s own and other operations with which business interacts” (Slack et al 2009)

Veloso et al identify a classification of suppliers depending on the functions inside supply network. In First-Tier Supplier, he identified a “Systems Integrator”, “Global Standardizer–Systems Manufacturer” and “Raw Materials” supplier. (Veloso & Kumar, 2002). At the Second-tier supplier, Veloso et al recognized “Component

A successful supply chain requires a change from managing individual functions to integrating activities into key supply chain process. An integrated supply chain requires continuous information flows, which in turn helps an organization to achieve the best results.

As we have studied supply chain throughout the semester, we have learned about the people, processes, and technology that all go into creating, improving, and executing a supply chain strategy. By reading through the final papers in this class and by examining ours with a final read through, we have come to a conclusion on our definition of supply chain, shown in the graphic above. We believe that supply chain is every single step that a product or service takes from cradle to grave, and it must also encompass all of the people, processes and technology used to create it. Within processes specifically, we see the Plan, Source, Make, and Deliver functions. We would like to discuss each element, people, processes, and technology, further and provide real world examples of these main elements of supply chain.