Supply Chain – An Overview
A supplier supplies products to a customer. Customer demand affects the production of a suppliers products significantly. A supply chain is a coordinated system of people, information, organizations, resources, and activities that are involved in the movement or transportation of a product or service from a supplier to a customer. In the words of a layman, a supply chain is the process of all the steps that are involved in the movement of products and services from the point-of-origin to the point-of-consumption.
There is a lot of difference between the supply chain of modern days and that of traditional times. Earlier, it was just concerned with delivery of goods, but now the scope and area of the process of a supply chain is different and exhaustive. Now, a supply chain is not only concerned with the delivery of goods, but also comprises all the requisite steps without which the delivery of goods would not have been as effective as it is now. The steps which are involved in this process are production, storage, distribution, warehousing, logistics, transportation, and final delivery to the end-customer. With the passage of time, business organizations have started to realize that the importance of a supply chain. A process that was once neglected is now enjoying the importance that is due to it. Nowadays, organizations have employed part-time and even full time expert professionals in the field of supply chain management. The position of supply chain managers and their support staff is now considered to be important and critical to the objectives of the business. Organizations now have devoted their valuable resources for research and development of their supply chain. Supply chain managers and their support staff have found new ways to ensure that the supply chain process is effective enough to achieve their business objectives in an efficient and effective manner at all times. Effective planning, control, management, direction, coordination and implementation of plans and policies are necessary to ensure that predefined goals and objectives of the business are achieved under strict deadlines. This of course means an effective utilization of available scarce resources and optimization of efforts. An effective supply chain ensures that the business is able to achieve its goals in a uniform and balanced manner. It helps to streamline the processes and sub-processes of the organization. It also helps the business to make a name for itself in the marketplace. Since customers are provided with timely delivery of goods and that too in a safe and sound condition, they are loyal to the organization. This obviously means more business. This also helps the business to grow and expand as more and more business opportunities are available to it. Thus it can be said that the supply chain concept has evolved tremendously and a supply chain is a great medium to achieve the predefined objectives of a business effectively. |