Management decisions relate to supply chain

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

A Supply Chain Management (SCM ) can be defined as a network of autonomous or semi-autonomous business entities collectively responsible for procurement , manufacturing , and distribution activities associated with one or more families of related products (SearchCIO .com , 2009 . So basically Supply Chain Management is a network of facilities that procure raw materials , transform them into intermediate goods and final products , and deliver the products to the customers through a delivery system . It involves coordinating and integrating both within and among companies . The ultimate goal of a successful SCM is

to optimize supplies and production

Supply Chain Management flows can be divided into three main flows (Meindl Chopra , 2006

The Product Flow

The Information Flow

The Finances Flow

THE PRODUCT FLOW

The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer , as well as any customer returns or service needs

THE INFORMATION FLOW

The information flow involves transmitting s sent , updating the status of delivery

THE FINANCIAL FLOW

The financial flow consists of credit terms , payment schedules , and consignment and title ownership arrangements

Supply chain management is typically viewed to lie between fully vertically integrated firms , where the entire material flow is owned by a single firm and those where each channel member operates independently

SUPPLY CHAIN DECISIONS

We classify the decisions for supply chain management into two broad categories -- strategic and operational . As the term implies , strategic decisions are made typically over a longer time horizon . These are closely linked to the corporate...