1. Introduction
In today’s turbulent market conditions, supply chain executives are facing huge pressure than ever when the need of coping with a whole range of supply chain challenges is increasing. Survey shows that leaders of successful companies are tailoring their supply chains to customer needs and adopting differential practices such as collaborative planning with customers and suppliers or new technologies which can help to retain and continue their competitive advantage ( PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2013). Big Data is considered as an effective method of information exploration. Supply chain leaders believe that Big Data application is able to provide greater transparency and process automation within supply chains. It can also optimize logistics and distribution operations for businesses and therefore benefits both customers and suppliers.
1.1 An Overview of the Topic
Supply chain is long and penetrates almost all business processes. The chain can extend from raw materials to final sales or deliveries to end users. It connects an organization with multiple levels of customers as well as suppliers, and acts as a channel on which to exchange information and transfer orders in terms of product flow (CIPS, 2013). The role of supply chain plays in a business determines the necessity of supply chain management (SCM) improvement. According to APICS Dictionary (2016), SCM involves “design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities”. It affects
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.
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
Supply Chain Management (SCM) has been defined by Supply Chain Management Institute to be “the management of relationships in the network of organizations, from end customers through original suppliers, using key cross-functional business processes to create value for customers and other stakeholders”(SCM-Institute, 2016).
SCM is embedded and influences all facets of business operations. More precise, SCM is the proactive management of logistics, product development, sourcing, production, business processes, information systems, and business finances as they transition though the many facets of the supply chain-from raw materials to consumer (APICS Supply Chain Council, 2014). Also, its emphasis is to sustain its competitive advantage through the maximization of customer value. Competitive advantage sustainability is only feasible through a conscious effort by all stakeholders within the supply chain to
Supply chain management or SCM is a series of interconnected and interdependent operational functions and decisions. It is the blend of art and science that goes into enhancing the company’s procedures in obtaining the raw materials it requires to create a product or service and distribute it to customers (Harland Jr, 2013). All successful e-commerce businesses have one strategy in common, that similarity is the emphasis on creating and developing supply chains that distributes products and services to customers as cheaply and fast as possible. Leading e-commerce business and enterprise continually invest on improving the speed and cost-reduction of their supply chains, in which implementing a supply chain management proves to be beneficial. Supply chains that are flexible, nimble, and aligned can deliver sustainable competitive advantage, which is crucial to successful e-commerce (Lee, 2004).
Every organization strives to ensure that all of its operations are efficient and effective to the highest level, thereby enabling them to achieve a sustained competitive advantage. Over the years, experts have introduced various specializations in various parts of business operations. One of the key aspects of any business that firms are required to manage efficiently is supply chain. Supply chain is an
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 17 · Number 1 · 2012 · 15 –28
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
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 is a set of facilities and services that enables deliverance of raw material for production purposes to customers through various channels. The goal of an efficient supply chain management is to improve value and make cost least in accordance with demands customers make. Hence supply chain is the most critical art of any business. Also that supply chain of different companies are different so it is possible to get a desired supply chain by incorporating needs and demand of costumers and implementing them in procedures that makes logistic network efficient (Pejak, 2015).
“Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer.” The literature review used in this paper is focused on supply chain management and risk management though the business side of the
When thinking about the idea of Supply Chain Management (SCM) there are two core ideas that can be taken into account. Nearly every product that is obtained by a consumer is done so through the efforts of multiple companies working collaboratively. Secondly, many companies within these systems have historically been focused only on what role they play individually. SCM strives to bridge the gap between companies and organizations by providing effective management of supply chain activities in a way that maximizes profitability and consumer satisfaction.
Supply chain management is a valuable practice whose purpose is to offer businesses a competitive advantage in the market place. According to Jacoby, D. (2010), some companies like Walmart and Dell have applied this system to gain a competitive advantage in the market while others have failed to apply it owing to its complexity. Companies require adequate and accurate information about all the players in the chain management in order for them to meet their consumers, demands while maintaining health relationships with their suppliers. Technology plays a pivotal role in availing such information, and as such, it is an effective tool for chain management. If done in the right way, then organizations will be ahead of the rest of the competitors in the market place. It is for this reason that organizations should invest in proper supply chain management in order for them to enhance their revenues while cutting on the costs.
Supply chain management is an integrated process that constitutes the various stages through which a product passes prior to reaching the ultimate consumer. Every product or service is designed in such a manner that it is able to meet the requirements of its target consumers. Through a well formulated and managed supply chain process, products that are manufactured are able to reach out to its consumers effectively and through the process it is possible to make it available at a convenience to the customers. The processes constituted in the supply chain system are continuously active and are always being monitored and managed by several people across the system. An efficient supply chain management system ensures that there is speedy delivery of the product from the stage of the manufacturing through the various channels for delivering it to the consumers.
Supply change management (SCM) is active in many organizations today. The purpose of SCM is to maximize the company value in order maintain a competitive advantage in the market place. As an Operational Managers (OM) it is essential to oversee the supply chain within an organization. The OM responsibility is to manage the supply chain flow, and to ensure the supply chain has a quality design in order to reduce cost and drive efficiency. (Reid & Sanders, 2010) An organization supply chain includes activities such as product development, sourcing, productions, logistics, material, and other information systems needed to coordinate the movement of goods from suppliers to manufactures, and to final customers.