Case Study : Supply Chain Management

The concept of Supply Chain Management is based on two core ideas. The first is that practically every product that reaches an end user represents the cumulative effort of multiple organizations. These organizations are referred to collectively as the supply chain. Supply chain management, then, is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It represents a conscious effort by the supply chain firms to develop and run supply chains in the most effective & efficient ways possible. Supply chain activities cover everything from product development, sourcing, production, and logistics, as well as the information systems needed to coordinate these activities.

Q1) In today’s business environment, no enterprise can expect to build a successful product, process, or service advantage without affiliating their strategies with those of the supply chain system in which they are heavily linked. The literature examined for the purpose of this essay identifies the many different definitions of Supply Chain Management and the overall effectiveness of supply chain management to a business in the twenty first century. This essay also highlights whether supply chain management is a passing fad or a fundamental change.

Lead time involves the manufacturing, timing, supply of raw materials, distribution and sales. Lead time gives an accurate depiction of the overall strength of the supply chain and is an excellent metric in determining the effectiveness of planning and execution of supply chain goals and initiatives.

The supply chain management is considered as a management concept from past two decades as the customers are concerned about timely and safe delivery. The competitiveness has been increasing among the companies to deliver the products as quickly as possible to the customers all around the world. This has made the supply chain management as a vital tool for the management. This is also measured as a competitive parameter for the companies.

A supply chain is very important to an organization. It can and should show the relationship between suppliers, distributors, managers and consumers. This paper would detail how important suppliers and distributions are to an organization’s success. And how important a supply chain is within an organization and how managers can utilize the supply chain. It is important that companies such as Target Corporations utilize the supply chain and gain competitive advantages. Target is one of the world’s largest retail stores; the first Target was opened in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota (Target.com). By the end of 1962 there were only four Target and they were all operated in Minnesota.

A crucial component of the supply chain is to have correct and accurate information as long as an open line of communication in case assistance is needed. Another crucial role in a successful supply chain is the role of management. Management is able to help things run smoothly and assist in any problems that might occur. The advancement of the business world has caused a change in how managers operate. Management can be in charge of overseeing a large number of suppliers and consumers at any given time. They are responsible for managing the supply chain and ensuring that the consumers get what they need. A firm’s good supply chain management is crucial to the success of the business and how they operate. A firm has to improve the flow of information through the chain, accurately depict business models, and efficiently manage the production, development, and delivering of goods. A successful supply chain is able to work seamlessly with other parts of the business such as sales and marketing, engineering, business development, and program management. A good supply chain management can be the difference for the success of all parts of the business.

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.

Effective supply chain has gained a very high prominence in the current market scenario. The numerous amounts of demands from the customers has increased significantly over the past decades. They not only expect a reliable and good quality product/service, they also want it to be delivered to them well in time. The decline in product life cycle and the quick

Supply chain management is a practice that involves the planning, supervision, and implementation of strategies and controls to direct the movement of goods and services provided to customers. The intent of this essay is to incorporate a synopsis of existing literature and to provide the reader with a general understanding of how supply chain management correlates with the organizational design and structure of modern firms. The essay comprehensively reviews the components of supply chain management and their integration with functional areas within an organization. The information presented in this essay

According to Larson and Halldorsson (2004) “unionist” perspective, supply chain management incorporates logistics as a key supply chain focused function. The Council of Supply Chain management professionals (CSCMP) defined logistics management as ‘‘that part of supply chain management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverses flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet

As supply chains have moved from a cost focus to a customer focus and now currently to a strategic focus, the need to think strategically about the supply chain has never been more important. The success of a strategy is only as good as the company’s ability to fully and properly execute it. A great supply chain strategy, linked with operational excellence, can provide success for not only the company in question but also its partners and customers.

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 17 · Number 1 · 2012 · 15 –28

            The term supply chain management (SCM) was initially used in wholesaling and retailing to denote the integration of logistics and physical distribution functions with the goal of reducing delivery lead times. Manufacturers and service providers have used the same term to describe integration and partnership efforts with first- and second- tier suppliers to reduce cost and improve quality and delivery timing. Terms such as integrated purchasing strategy, integrated logistics, supplier integration, value chain management, supply base management, strategic supplier alliances, lean production, Just-In-Time (JIT) logistics, and supply chain synchronization have been used in the literature to

Today’s world great organizations are emerging in inventing powerful resources for a competitive advantage. It is called supply chain management and it includes all integrated activates which introduce to market place and maintain customer satisfaction. This supply chain management drives from multi- disciplinary departments such as procuring, transportation, manufacturing products, customer services, distribution of product into integrated program. Successful management will be in coordination and integrated in all these activate in an unbroken chain process. It supports and interconnected to all the partners within the organization, where these partners are merchants, third party companies, transporters, third party companies and product providers.

Improvements in transportation process and technology enablement make available the most achievable way for most companies today to flush out supply chain costs and advance quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. Companies across nearly every industry sector are motivated to become supply chain management leaders. SCM leaders attain this rank in their markets by extensively dropping cycle times and operating expenses, increasing supply chain