Supply Chain

Introduction
The supply chain constitutes the processes, which goods or services go through to reach the end user, including the design, manufacture, and delivery stages (Buxmann et al. 2004). Therefore, it encompasses suppliers, manufacturers, transporters, warehouses, wholesalers, retailers, and customers. According to Datta et al. (2008), all businesses and companies are part of one or more supply chains and depend on them to thrive. Nowadays, most companies want to understand the supply chain concept and the specific roles they should play in it (Ertek & Eryılmaz 2008). Their main objective is to participate in profitable chains to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors.
In this regard, supply chain management is the actions that a company does to influence the way its supply chain is operated to maximize profits and cut costs, among other desirable effects (Buxmann et al. 2004). Traditionally, companies have considered activities, such as procurement, maintenance, distribution, and inventory control, as the most important elements in logistics. According to Buxmann et al. (2004), supply chain management not only takes into consideration traditional logistics, but also incorporates customer service, marketing, finance, and product development into the supply chain. Supply chain management views organizations, their products, and the supply chain, as one entity, and aims at understanding, managing, and controlling the various activities that enable the smooth flow of goods or services to the customer (Buxmann et al. 2004).
Components of the Supply Chain
The five major components of the supply chain are: production, inventory, location, transportation, and communication (Du et al. 2012). Production is concerned with...

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...ems Journal, vol. 14, no.7, pp. 295–309.
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