Supply Chain Management in Business
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Supply Chain Management
According to Chase & Jacobs (2014), supply chain management is a common concept in the world of business and a process that sees products delivered to the final stage for consumers. The process starts with design of the product through manufacturing, logistics, product service, and delivery through strategic linkages. Matching of the specialists within supply chain depends on the product or service to offer and therefore resources managing must be efficient to support the process and linkages. The supply chain can get its simplest definition as a network that ensures movement of the product or service from the producer to the consumer. The definition goes ahead to include the upstream and downstream linkages that create value in products and service for customers.
The supply chain is not only important to the supply chain managers but to every party involved in the process from design of the product and manufacturing to the logistics and delivery of products to consumers. Miller (2002) argues that all the process and organization that support the supply chain need proper coordination of the relationship to achieve optimization of processes throughout the network. According to Chase & Jacobs (2014) customers are vital in the supply chain, as considerations in the manner of managing customer touch points made to cut costs and ensure sustainability of the process through maintaining proper balance of the systems.
Singhal & Singhal (2012) argue that even as the supply chain managers are responsible for developing strategies for the supply chain system, the strategy has to be inclusive and take into account all aspirations of the processes. Through the policy, people and groups involved in the supply chain network can realize how firms intend to create and sustain value for their products or services. Everyone within the process needs to integrate consideration appropriate to ensure efficiency of the supply chain network and sustainability of value throughout the system.