1.0 Introduction
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management and administration of a network of interconnected enterprises involved in the fundamental provision of product and service packages required by end customers. This complex discipline is the systematic and strategic coordination of traditional business functions and the tactics across those business functions within a particular company and across businesses within that company’s supply chain. The end effect is improving long term performance of the company, the companies within the supply chain, and the supply chain as a whole for competitive advantage. Keith Oliver, an analyst working for the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, coined the term “Supply Chain Management” in
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It plays a key role in the total SCM functions. At strategic level, purchasing plays a decisive role in decisions on and implementation of business boundaries. It acts as a link between the vendors and the company to get involvement and help of vendors in matters like purchased material specification, matching of lot sizes and transportation packing.
E. Selling is the closest link with the demand side of the supply chain. It is directly responsible to help customer know, select, buy, pay for, and take away company’s product. These products may be sold to the customers directly or through a distribution network. A sale plays an important part in decision on design of the distribution and is directly involved in its day to day operations.
F. Manufacturing represents the core of internal operations of a company. No SCM policies can operate in isolation from the manufacturing activities. Manufacturing supports SCM in many ways like, reducing manufacturing lead times and supplying material closely matched to customer lot size and time requirements.
G. Product design has significant impact on efficiency and effectiveness of both supply and demand side of supply chain. In addition the basic quality of the finished product sold to the end user can be improved substantially by better collaboration among channel partners.
Supply Chain Management has matured from a compelling method of deriving competitive advantage, to
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.
Supply chain management involves the management of information flows between and among stages in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and profitability. The dozens of steps are required to achieve and carry out each of the above components. SCM software can enable an organization to generate efficiencies within these steps by automating and improving the information flows throughout and among the different supply chain components. If one member of the supply chain makes a reckless decision it can impact the entire supply chain. This is what
Some of Samsung's business practice approaches examined by Yang el at (2007) are: SMC, Six Sigma, DMAEV (define, measure, analyze, enable, and verify), SCOR (Supply Chain Operation Reference), Black belt, and advanced planning and scheduling (APS). The collaborative relationship concept of SCM need the integration of key business processes through which information sharing and group planning are provided within and across the supply chain network of suppliers, retailers, manufacturers, and consumers (Bowersox el al., 2010).The Global Supply Chain Forum, a supply chain management research group in USA, has identified eight key business processes of SCM (Corotox et al, 2001), Figure 1: returns management, product development and commercialization, manufacturing relationship management, order fulfillment, demand management, customer service management, and customer relationship management (SCM-Institute,
Supply chain provides a vital link between suppliers and customers. It involves meeting customers' requirements in terms of time, quality and quantity. It helps to optimize design, planning, production, delivery of materials and other resources used in manufacturing and production.
Supply chain management (SCM) is based on the philosophy that firms operating in a supply chain are oriented to the provision of goods and services for the ‘final customer’ (Lambert and Cooper, 2000) . The literature strongly suggests that that cohesive collaboration in the supply chain can provide important benefits such as added value, efficiencies and client satisfaction (Stock, Boyer and Harmon,
Supply chain management places importance on managing the customer relationship, as well as the supplier relationship. By effectively managing these relationships, the company can become more competitive, while increasing the quality of the product to the customer. Placing emphasis on the supplier relationship and the businesses along the supply chain increases product efficiency and quality. The importance placed on the customer relationship focuses on the demands and needs of the customer. Through effective communication within the relationships along the supply chain, a basic balance of supply and demand is established.
In the 1980s, the term supply chain management (SCM) was developed to express the need to integrate the key business processes, from end user through original suppliers.[8] Original suppliers are those that provide products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders. The basic idea behind SCM is that companies and corporations involve themselves in a supply chain by exchanging information about market fluctuations and production capabilities. Keith Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, is credited with the term's invention after using it in an interview for the Financial Times in 1982.[9][10][11]
Supply chain management simply means the management of flow of goods and services from the point of origin to the point of consumption. (wikipedia) It can be defined as the process of identifying, evaluating, procuring and managing the entire material cycle starting from the planning stage to the delivery of finished goods. It includes all parties directly or indirectly involved in fulfilling a customer request. Supply chains are very dynamic in nature as there is a constant flow of information, products and funds between different stages. (meindl)
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
’Christopher (2005) defines SCM as the management of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as a whole’ (Jaspersen and Larsen, 2005, p. 11).
The topic of the research has been discussed that what actually supply chain management (SCM) is, where it is utilized and what its importance in a business are, and why it is necessary to go for a research in this field. Additionally, opinions of different authors has been given that how an organisation could reduce their costs on the basis of supply chain management and why should the managers reshape or reconstruct this section of their business and what will be the benefits of those changes.
Supply chain management systems are information technologies that hold SCM. In the other terms, SCM systems’ purpose is reducing manufacturing costs, including the costs of organization resources and calculating inventory
During the 80s, the term supply chain, unveiled within the administration, this term was used previously like, "logistics" or “Management Operations" to define the supply management, was already in the 90s when it takes shape, becoming a powerful tool in the business administration. There are multiple definitions of supply chain, according to Handfield, R. (2011),” 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,
Supply chain management (SCM) is the process that is used by a company to ensure that its supply chain is efficient and cost effective. They are aiming at provide the highest degree of customer satisfaction at the lowest possible cost through management of material and information flow in the supply chain .It requires the commitment of supply chain partners to work closely to
In the manufacturing sector, the core or primary purpose of the organisation is to use its operational processes to execute business orders. At NTF India the main processes are Production Planning( Sourcing ),Manufacturing(injection moulding) and Finishing &Packaging .