Supply Chain Management
Introduction
The process of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is deemed as a key element in dealing with the competitive pressure that organizations face in today’s dynamic world. To enable the business entities in providing quality service to the customers and add value to the firm, supply chain management has been a subject of immense interest (Aviv, 2001). Effective incorporation of supply chain tools and techniques has been linked with the enhanced performance of the business entities, as the production process can be made more efficient as an obvious outcome.
Firms have adopted different means of managing their supply chain networks, creating an effective coordination between the various units of the organization, seeking to attain the unanimous goal of gaining an edge over the rival firms. In addition to this, the management may also be inclined to adopt the technological advancements to create reduction in the cost of manufacturing or delivering the service to the clientele, thus bringing affordable price structures to the target market (Rogers & Leuschner, 2004). Supply Chain has been an important area of concern for the management of an organization as it can have a profound influence on the probability of the success of a business.
The huge amount of ascendancy achieved by businesses e.g. H & M, Zara, Gap and Next in the dress designing trades operating from the 1990s till present cause designers like Esprit, s’ Oliver, Mexx, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi, Nike and other businesses like Karstadt, Kaufhof, Lafayette, Printemps and El Corte Ingles to step up their supply chains. This implies that the aggressiveness in the market, features providing commodities according to the cultural demands of the clientele and according to the schedule. The emphasis henceforth rather than being on the rivalry in the manufacturing progression has assumed the shape of rivalry between supply chains (Ritchie & Brindley, 2007). The aggressiveness in the market henceforth requires collaboration and systematization in the supply chain. The management and the automation in the corporate sector as a consequence, have assumed more developed parameters.
Supply chain management is a conceptualization that assists corporate ventures in achieving collaboration in the supply chain according to a broader outlook. Businesses that have been employing the approach of the supply chain management all along the last ten years include Cisco, Dell Computer, Gillette, Kodak, LEGO, Motorola, Novozymes, Sony, 3M, Unilever, Xerox and Wal mart. In addition, there are several global consultancy companies that put particular emphasis on supply chain management. These comprise of IBM Business Consulting Services, A. T. Kearney, Cap Gemini, Ernst & Young, Accenture and KPMG.
Supply chain management can be understood to entail all the enterprises involved in the augmentation of finished commodities that the clientele can use. The supply chain is henceforth composed of the substances as well as the knowledge that is required in the industrial processes (Hult, Ketchen & Arrfelt, 2007). Supply chain involves collaboration and strong corporate affiliations, sound corporate progressions and great amount of knowledge dispensation. It assists corporations in yielding good quality commodities and sidestepping the rival companies in the market.
Supply chain management can also be understood as the strong affiliations among the suppliers and the clientele to adhere to the requisites of the consumers and meet the need for reduced prices. Supply chain management henceforth emphasizes on the favorable affiliations between all the participants particularly the clientele so that improved outcomes could be accomplished (Aviv, 2001). Supply chain management can also be rephrased to imply demand chain management. This suggests that the supply chain management is propelled by the various factors in the market instead of the suppliers. The chain