What Is Supply Chain Management? Assessment Example

Supply chain management (SCM) extends an organization by allowing the organization to effectively ensure the efficient flow of processes to manufacture a product and get the product into the hands of consumers. In other words, supply chain managers are responsible for managing the network of process steps that are necessary to get a product from the suppliers to the customers. This network includes all vendors, organizations, or companies that come into contact with any part of how a product is manufactured, transported, or sold, which includes suppliers, manufacturers, logistics, distribution, retailers and any other supporting organizations and their extended supply chains, along the way (Gunasekaran & Ngai, 2004). The organization is extended because all of the people, processes, supplies, materials, equipment, transportation, logistics, etc. that go into getting products into the hands of consumers is not all done within the organization, but through a system of vendors with which the organization is associated.

According to Gunasekaran and Ngai (2004), “Supply chain management emphasizes the overall and long-term benefit of all parties on the chain through co-operation and information sharing” (p. 271). According to the video, SCM allows an organization to manage the flow of processes that allows it to purchase goods, and manufacture, transport, sell, and service products (ASU-WPC-SCM, 2010). An organization’s supply chain is an essential part of its business, as it gives the organization a way of remaining competitive and sustainable in the global marketplace and to streamline its delivery times as well as its product timelines to ensure its customers are well taken care of in the most efficent and convenient ways possible.

References

ASU-WPC-SCM (Director). (2010). Module 1: What is Supply Chain Management? [Motion Picture]. YouTube.com. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1QBxVjZAw

Gunasekaran, A., & Ngai, E. T. (2004). Information systems in supply chain integration and management. European Journal of Operational Research, 159(1), 269-295.