Supply Chain Management
Improve performance by managing your supplies
Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes the movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.
The term ‘supply chain management’ entered the public domain when Keith Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, used it in an interview for the Financial Times in 1982. Supply chain management is now a management buzz word.
SCM involves the design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronising supply with demand and measuring performance globally. SCM draws heavily from the areas of operations management, logistics, procurement, and information technology, and strives for an integrated approach.
The benefits of SCM include:
- Improved customer satisfaction at the end point of delivery to the consumer.
- Reduced costs by removing unnecessary expenses, movements, and handling.
- Increased system efficiency.
- More responsive to customer requirements.
- Improved trust and collaboration among supply chain partners.
- Improved inventory visibility and the velocity of inventory movement.
- Assessment and planning for all possible events and factors that can disrupt a supply chain.
SCM software includes tools or modules used to execute supply chain transactions, manage supplier relationships, and control associated business processes.
