ArticlesReader.com Menu

Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup

Search the articles

Articles Main Categories

Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing

Subscribe

Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Syndicate

Related Products

Home::Management

Supply chain management 101

Author : Dan Johnson

Answering the question of what Supply Chain Management is, is as simple as breaking down the phrase into its component parts. Supplies are those inputs that a company relies upon to produce the product that will ultimately reach its customers. The chain is the group of suppliers that bring those inputs to a company and the process whereby those inputs are integrated into the company. And finally, management is the coordination and organization of all these inputs and their implementation. So put it all together, and Supply Chain Management is the science and art of improving the processes that bring suppliers of raw materials together and move those materials through the company until they reach the endpoint, the customer.

What SCM Involves

If defining the term takes a full paragraph to cover even in its most basic sense, you can imagine how complex the industry surrounding Supply Chain Management truly is. It involves managers who map out the entire process and look for inefficiencies and others who develop and maintain relationships with suppliers to ensure a steady supply of inputs. It involves the actual process of manufacturing or value add in which those inputs become the products that will be sold as well as "logistics" or the process of getting those value added products to customers. And finally it involves dealing with and compensating for supply chain returns, such as defective products. Supply Chain Management covers every aspect of the business from input to output and as such requires an extensive array of tools and strategies to help managers to coordinate and organize a

company.

The Dilemma of SCM Software

One of the most innovative and revolutionary tools in use by managers involved in the supply chain is Supply Chain Management Software. While I have outlined five general sections that make up Supply Chain Management, each of these sections is unique to a particular business. As such, no single product has been developed to handle the software needs of a company from start to finish. As a result, when industry insiders talk about Supply Chain Software, they are really talking about a combination of many different programs that, when applied together, help manage the supply chain. While literally thousands of different products are on the market today, they all fall into one of two broad categories, Supply Chain Planning (SCP) or Supply Chain Execution (SCE) software. Supply Chain Planning software covers those programs which use advanced mathematical algorithms to map out the flow of products through a company and to identify any inefficiencies. The ultimate goal of this type of software is to help reduce faulty products, to speed up the time to market, and to reduce inventory. Supply Chain Execution software is designed to automate different components of the supply chain. For example, Supply Chain Execution Software might update inventory listings in a central directory as soon as inputs are brought in from a supplier or are sold off to the customer. In this way, SCE software eliminates the costly and time consuming task of tabulating the total current supply so as to know when to place the next order.

The Goals of Supply Chain Management

Ultimately the goal of Supply Chain Management is to bring greater efficiency to a company by reducing errors, maintaining steady inputs, and reducing excess inventories. With the growth of the internet, however, it is transitioning into a means of collaboration between companies. By concentrating their efforts on better communication with suppliers and customers, inefficiencies are ironed out not only within the company but in those surrounding it as well. The internet has made the communication between firms necessary for this to take place possible. Consequently, the hope for Supply Chain Management in the future is not only to create a more efficient and profitable business, but to contribute to a more efficient and profitable global marketplace as well.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Dan Johnson enjoys writing about supply chain management. Visit www.scmlowdown.com/ to learn more.

Spam emails More free articles

More related feeds

Budgeting 101: A Beginner's Guide
Budgeting 101: A Beginner's Guide. Ki Gray. Budgeting and financial planning are the cornerstones of responsible money management. Not only that, but they are vital in developing a workable plan for the future, and can even reduce ...

Managing the Weakest Link in Your Supply Chain » The TEC Blog
The good news: Supply chain management professionals have been able to implement important technology and strategic business initiatives (such as ERP systems) and value-added strategic business initiatives like outsourcing, just-in-time ...

IBM Expands R&D In China - 15-Oct-08: R&D article
More Services InsightsWhite PapersSolving the Storage Conundrum Event Management 101 WebcastsTransforming Business Processes and Implementations Leveraging SOA Principles "Our extension in Shanghai adds to the significant research and ...

Dreamforce 2008 Session Recording: Lead Management 101 : Best ...
Supplybase was a successful supply chain software company that created significant customer value before being acquired by i2 Technologies in 2000 as part of the largest software merger in history. Before entering the software industry, ...

GM board reportedly won't rule out bankruptcy - MarketWatch
There objective should be to guarantee that these new companies will have enough work to start regrowing Americas manufacturing/supply chain, so in the future they are able to compete in the world market. ...

Supply Chain Manager | Jobs in Saudi Arabia by Logistics ...
The Logistics Recruitment senior management team has over 75 years combined experience in the logistics industry and the company is unique in having a blend of staff with both recruitment and supply chain expertise. ...

New ways to configure a supply chain « Cal Maritime Academy Blog
New ways to configure a supply chain. November 14, 2008 at 12:19 · Filed under MGT 340 Logistics, MGT420 Supply chains. Thjis article from two of the top experts in supply chain management is most interesting reading. ...

Mindshare Technologies Awarded Perfect Score In Vendor Satisfaction
Employee Relationship Management · Enterprise Resource Planning · Knowledge Management · Partner Relationship Management · Relationship Marketing · Sales Automation · Supply Chain Management ...

IndustryWeek : Paccar's Hybrids: Building a Heavy-Duty Supply ...
One of Paccar's closest supply chain partners is Eaton Corp., a Cleveland-based diversified industrial manufacturer. The two companies have worked together for more than 50 years, according to Chris Konkel, Eaton's account director for ...

Graphic Packaging Paperboard Mill Runs Greener with Natural Gas ...
"We are delighted to provide energy management solutions that help our customers be environmental leaders," said Jan Berman, senior director of customer energy efficiency and solar for PG&E. "This project is a great example of the ...

Supply chain management 101

Related articles