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Importance of supply chain management essay
Importance of supply chain management essay
International trade and international business
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What is Supply Chain Management Supply chain management (SCM) is a critical aspect of modern business operations. It is arguable that the success of an organisation in the current global business environment relies on the manner in which the organisation leverages its supply chain to obtain competitive advantages. This essay begins by defining supply chain management to facilitate an understanding of its importance to businesses. The next part of the essay discusses the main purpose of supply chain management. The paper concludes by describing how firms that take part in international trade use different distribution channels and supply chains. According to Christopher (2016), supply chain management is a relatively new concept. In the past …show more content…
However, SCM also allows a firm to achieve other related objectives. First, it allows an organisation to reduce costs per unit due to the increased level of efficiency. Supply chain management also reduces the length of the delivery cycle (Havaldar, 2008). Other objectives of supply chain management focus on waste reduction and creating delivery systems that are superior to those of competitors (Havaldar, 2008). From the definition, it is evident that supply chain management’s scope is extensive. It begins with the movement of different raw materials into an organisation, followed by the movement of these materials within the organisation as they are converted into final products. Additionally, supply chain management concerns itself with the delivery of finished goods to the end consumers. The wide scope of supply chain management can distract an organisation from its core mandate. As such, firms opt to concentrate on their core competencies and rely on partners to oversee the majority of supply chain functions. This reliance on partners is facilitated by modern technology which has connected suppliers and customers in new and effective ways (Longenecker et al.,
In the 1960s through the 1970s, companies realized strong engineering, design, and manufacturing functions were strong market strategy keys to create and capture customer loyalty. As the demand for new products rose in the 1980s, these market requirements were to increase their flexibility and responsiveness to adapt existing products and processes or to develop new ones in order to meet customer needs. As manufacturing improved in the 1990s, managers began noticing material and service inputs involving suppliers and their major impact on an organization’s ability to meet customer needs. As a result of these changes, organizations now find that it difficult to manage their own organizations. First, they must be involved in the management of their network of all upstream firms that provide directly or indirectly, as well as the network of downstream firms, which are responsible for delivery and market service of the product to the end customer. In order to succeed, managers have to realize that they cannot do it alone and they must work together on a daily basis with the whole organizations in their supply chains. Because supply chain management involves all functions within an organization, managers need to know what a supply chain is, why it is important, and the impact of supply chain management on the success and profitability of their organization. Today, Wal-Mart topped the list of the America’s biggest companies on the Fortune 500 list, “with sales of almost $345 billion — more than a quarter of a trillion dollars” (Forbs). Wal-Mart’s supply chain management is becoming recognized as a core competitive strategy.
... important and worth mention reason for firms to involve in supply chain conducts is in reaction to pressure and threats from competitors, both domestic and internationally. High level of supply chain activities occurs when the strategies at each of the firms authentic with on the whole supply chain strategies. Each firm must recognize its job in the supply chain, the requirements of the final customer, and how these requirements are translate into internal operations needs and the needs being placed on suppliers. Manufacturers are required to better supervise the supply chain and to get better manufacturing competence and logistics operations although remaining reaction to altering market situation and customer demands. And increase the complicated global contact between suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers join together these pressures.
Supply Chain Management according to Tom Mc Guffog is "Maximising added value and reducing total cost across the entire trading process through focusing on speed and certainty of response to the market." Supply chain management is one of the important area which requiring strategic planning in a business enterprise. Planning and decision making are required right from the production of goods till the goods reach the ultimate consumers in the most cost effective and timely manner. If a firm is able to manage its supply chain efficiently, it can increase its customer satisfaction because SCM ensure the deliverance of fast and quality products to customers. Supply chain includes all the activities from the conversion of raw materials, one end of supply chain to the customers, the other end of the chain, including all associated information flows.
Before we start, we would like to briefly introduce the definitions of Supply Chain and Supply Chain Management (SCM).
Supply chain management is basically refers to the fundamental supply chain analysis of the organization which predominantly describes functionalities from source to the delivery point. In this process of delivery, supply chain management framework divides in four categories: In Planning the products and suppliers evaluated and selected, Sourcing pull the information process including contracting, ordering and expediting, Moving is a physical process from suppliers to end user and Paying is the financial process including payment and performance measurement.
‘Supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. It encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, thir- party service providers, and customers’. (Web: Council for Supply Chain Management Pr...
Today for large multinational corporations (MNC) to build or retain their competitive advantage requires effective methods in managing the global supply chain in order to assess their raw resources, inventory supplies and factory productivity. MNC look to global sourcing for several reasons including: scarcity or high cost of local raw materials, low cost of labor in developing countries, and to increase market share into new geographical areas. Effectively managing the global supply chain is quite literally the lifeblood of an MNC that produces goods to be sold around the world.
...imal solution. Then, a simulation method is developed to compare the centralized and decentralized SCs. In addition, to reach the near optimal solution in the centralized model, evolution strategy (ES) algorithm and imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) as meta-heuristic approaches are applied.
Lean manufacturing and just-in-time processing are great business strategies that can severely stress a supply chain. The supply chain and supply chain management is a critical operations management element for any major company to succeed and remain competitive in the global market. The supply chain is one of many pieces critical to maximizing value to the end customer and requires close management to minimize external impacts. If a company is relying on another company to supply the raw materials needed for their production line, then impacts to this other company could impact their supply chain. Careful risk management is needed to optimize performance. As a company expands into global markets and global suppliers, this risk and management challenge is multiplied. The global nature of the company could impact important activities such as transportation, funds transfers, suppliers, distributors, accounting and information sharing. Disruption to the supply chain can significantly reduce revenue, cut market share, inflate costs and threaten production. A major disruption would have obvious impacts to profit, but could have additional intangible impacts to the credibility of the company if products are not delivered on time.
Supply chain management has been defined as that process that involves the management of information, materials, and all the finances that are handled within and across the entire supply chain process (Christopher, 2016). The management is usually done through out the entire supply chain management from that moment when the suppliers are involved through all the manufacturing activities, different distribution activities, and the way that the products are served to the final product consumer (Turban, et al., 2002). The process also includes all the activities that different organizations offers to their customers as after sale services for purposes perfecting their services and products towards their highly valued customers (Christopher,
The different elements that need to come together to bring supply chains to the optimal levels that these companies need are the implementation of supply chain management operations and coordination with IT. In order for failure to not be an end result, the business managers and IT professionals must understand the complexity of reaching these optimal levels, and shall focus on adapting and coming together for greater success. IT plays a significant role in this process as it is the coordinator, adaptor, and connector for the system as a whole, and without it these companies will likely fail.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is an essential element to organisation success by maximizing customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The source of competitive advantage can also include innovation, brand image, product range, customer care, compliance to regulations and reduced risks. Supply Chain Management (SCM) has seeking all possible areas to improve the competitive position and generate the greater cost saving to the organisation especially during this economic downturn.
Supply chain management involves the movement of products, services, and information between and within businesses, the creation of value, and support of enterprises in the pursuance of a competitive advantage in the market place (Kilty, 2000). It involves the cooperation and coordination of activities of all parties for the production and distribution of products to the final consumer with mechanism in place to optimize inventories across the entire supply chain (Haan, et al., 2003; Viswanathan and Piplani, 2001). With effective management of products to create added value and competition among firms move from national to regional and to a global level, new strategies are being adopted by a number of manufacturers and retailers, particularly, in the
The key performance drivers of Supply Chain Management (SCM) are - facility effectiveness, inventory effectiveness, transportation effectiveness, information effectiveness, sourcing effectiveness, pricing effectiveness, delivery effectiveness, quality effectiveness and service effectiveness. These drivers include various performance markers that may be measured quantitatively by gathering information and applying them in SPSS. The works here may principally be quantitative with spellbinding measurable investigation. In the current world, practical supply chain management to help the triple primary concern, (nature, domain, and economy) is likewise included in the extent of supply chain performance drivers. This is relatively a quite new research region.
Management accounting are playing a vital roles of every successful business out there, whether it is production company or you are providing customer service businesses. It a very important tool that must be in the toolkit o those that controls the affairs of a business.