Green Supply Chain

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.

Simchi, D., Kaminsky, P., Shankar, R. (2008). Designing and managing the supply chain: concepts, strategies, and case studies, 3, 384-385.

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

This article tells about the evolution of SCM concept and also considers the present state of supply chain management, whether it is a process, a discipline, a philosophy, a governance structure or a functional area. Here in literature review, supply chain is defined as a set of three or more entities (organizations or individuals) directly involved in the upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, or information from a to a customer, which was given by Mentzer et al in 2001 which is still true today. But there always remain a confusion in defining supply chain management. Many researchers and practitioners created their own definitions and names to describe supply chain management. All these concepts were published in many journals in those days like International Journal of Physical

The processes involved in the supply chain are very critical to the business organization. It is therefore very central and critical for the organization to make sure that it is operating or running a supply chain process that is very practical, efficient and sustainable as well as those that are simple to implement in terms of the operational costs. Sustainability means that the company is operating on renewable resources, no environmental pollution, generates products that meet the needs of the customer among others. As such the company or the business entity is in a position to operate in a way that is beneficial to itself, to the environment and to the society within which it operates (Cooper 14). There are three major

Leading companies understand that they have a role to play throughout the lifecycle of their products and services. Supply chain sustainability management is the key to maintain the integrity of a brand, ensuring business continuity and managing operational costs. Supply Chain Sustainability (SCS) is widely accepted as the management of environmental, social and economic impacts, and the encouragement of good governance practices, throughout the lifecycles of goods and services. And the main objective of SCS is to create, protect and grow long-term environmental, social and economic value for all stakeholders involved in bringing products and services to

Supply chain management based on two basic core ideas. One is that every single product, which influences an end user, characterizes the accumulative determination of manifold organizations essentially. These organizations mentioned too cooperatively as the supply chain. The second core idea is that the existence of supply chain is long term and many organizations only pay concentrated on what was happening inside their “four fortifications”. Supply chain management is the accomplishments for exhaust the possibilities of customer value and triumph competitive benefit.

Purpose – The authors perform a large-scale literature review and use conceptual theory building to introduce the concept of sustainability to the field of supply chain management and demonstrate the relationships among environmental, social, and economic performance within a supply chain management context. Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual theory building is used to develop a framework and propositions

(1) The supply chain managers should address the sustainability issues and should look at the entire supply

Company must consider more about the environmental concerns in their production process. They should use sustainable strategy in the long-term.

Abstract Consideration is given to the convergence of supply chains and sustainability. In doing so, the focus on environmental management and operations is moved from local optimization

Model of development by Reck and Long (1988) states that the first development phase of supply chain focuses only on procurement of goods and services. In this phase, supply chain collects requests from other divisions/departments, systemizes them, orders goods and services within specified time frames. As a business function, supply chain modifies its operation to the general business plan of the company. Main criteria for selecting a supplier is the price offered and availability of the product. In phase two, supply is treated as one of the factors contributing to the profitability of the company. Basic goal of supply chain shifts towards lowering costs of goods and services, and all linked processes. There is no participation within broader strategic planning, supply chain acts as an outside, independent factor with

There are numerous definitions of the terms ‘Sustainable’ and ‘Supply Chain’. For the simplistic but practical definition is “Management of raw materials and services from suppliers to manufacturer/ service provider to customer and back with improvement of the social and environmental impacts explicitly considered”. The supply chain considers the interactions between a business and its customers and suppliers. The greatest benefits are derived by extending the focus as far as possible upstream towards the raw materials, downstream towards the consumer and then back again as the product and wastes are recycled. Sustainable supply chains are among the biggest responsible business challenges. Accomplishing sustainable supply

Despite the numerous ways in which sustainable supply chain management helps operations, there are internal and external limitations to the technique. The first of such internal limitations is cost, which is an impediment for small and medium business to integrate sustainable activities (Alzawawi, n.d., p. 4). Without adequate funding, an organization is unable to implement and conduct all operations in a sustainable manner. Another limitation is a deficiency in understanding sustainable practices and the benefits therefrom (Alzawawi, n.d., p. 4). As such, an organization is incapable of undertaking sustainable activities when decision makers lack the knowledge required to implement changes.

Supply chain has gained importance in the current world of business. With the advent of globalization and competitive advantage being key aspects of organizational existence, it is essential to look into sustainability of the same. This research paper focuses on the need for this sustainability and how supply chains can make a difference to the sustainability of the planet. It will also explore supply chain practices that could be a source of competitive advantage.