The supply chain is the process through which products, information and financial resources move from a supplier to the consumer. Often, manufactures, wholesalers and retailers exist as intermediaries. Supply chain management, SCM, is simply exercising oversight over this process and ensuring that it is seamless. Coordination and integration may be done either within a company or between two companies. The process is said to be successful if there is a reduction in inventory.
Each of the goods and services making up the chain serve an important function to the entire process. Product flow simply refers to the transfer of goods (or services) from the producer to the consumer. Information flow relates to the act of transmitting orders and subsequently updating clients on the status of these orders as they are moved. Financial flow refers to aspects such as payment schedules, consignments, credit arrangements and so on.
The increased use of web-based applications in SCM is one of the measures that have been undertaken to increase the efficiency. The available applications fall under two major categories: planning and execution applications. Those that fall under the planning category are mainly involved with the placement of orders. Those classified as execution orders, in contrast, are used in tracking products, financial information and other materials.
One of the most commonly used data plans is what is termed the open data model. With this plan, data is shared between different departments in an enterprise as well as between enterprises doing business with each other. Information is stored in data warehouses that will be typically located in different companies. The act of sharing data has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the time-to-market of products.
Another important change that a company needs to undertake so as to realize the benefits of SCM is to shift from the management of individual functions to integrated functions. The collaboration involves the various departments within a company as well as suppliers, clients and product developers among others. For instance the purchasing department has to communicate with the marketing department to establish the number of units of a product to be bought.
There has been pressure coming from various quarters aimed at ensuring that companies use sustainable SCM models. Sustainability relates to different aspects of business such as economic, social and environmental. Research has shown that the carbon footprint contributed by supply chains could be as much as 75% of the total contribution of an average company. Many companies are, for this reason choosing suppliers that are environmental conscious at the expense of those that are not.
To be certified as a supply chain manager, you will need to meet a number of requirements. One of these requirements is that you need to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge. This relates to functions such as warehousing, transportation, management of inventory and business continuity strategies and so on. In most countries, there is a certification exam that one has to sit before they are registered by the relevant professional body.
The supply chain exists in almost every type of business. There is a need to have it managed properly so that the products and information can move from the supplier to the consumer and in the reverse direction with more efficiency. One of the most important ingredients that ensure this happens is the existence of effective communication between the players involved.
Each of the goods and services making up the chain serve an important function to the entire process. Product flow simply refers to the transfer of goods (or services) from the producer to the consumer. Information flow relates to the act of transmitting orders and subsequently updating clients on the status of these orders as they are moved. Financial flow refers to aspects such as payment schedules, consignments, credit arrangements and so on.
The increased use of web-based applications in SCM is one of the measures that have been undertaken to increase the efficiency. The available applications fall under two major categories: planning and execution applications. Those that fall under the planning category are mainly involved with the placement of orders. Those classified as execution orders, in contrast, are used in tracking products, financial information and other materials.
One of the most commonly used data plans is what is termed the open data model. With this plan, data is shared between different departments in an enterprise as well as between enterprises doing business with each other. Information is stored in data warehouses that will be typically located in different companies. The act of sharing data has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the time-to-market of products.
Another important change that a company needs to undertake so as to realize the benefits of SCM is to shift from the management of individual functions to integrated functions. The collaboration involves the various departments within a company as well as suppliers, clients and product developers among others. For instance the purchasing department has to communicate with the marketing department to establish the number of units of a product to be bought.
There has been pressure coming from various quarters aimed at ensuring that companies use sustainable SCM models. Sustainability relates to different aspects of business such as economic, social and environmental. Research has shown that the carbon footprint contributed by supply chains could be as much as 75% of the total contribution of an average company. Many companies are, for this reason choosing suppliers that are environmental conscious at the expense of those that are not.
To be certified as a supply chain manager, you will need to meet a number of requirements. One of these requirements is that you need to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge. This relates to functions such as warehousing, transportation, management of inventory and business continuity strategies and so on. In most countries, there is a certification exam that one has to sit before they are registered by the relevant professional body.
The supply chain exists in almost every type of business. There is a need to have it managed properly so that the products and information can move from the supplier to the consumer and in the reverse direction with more efficiency. One of the most important ingredients that ensure this happens is the existence of effective communication between the players involved.
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