Successful SCM requires a change from managing individual functions to integrating activities into key supply chain processes. An example scenario: the purchasing department places orders as requirements become known. The marketing department, responding to customer demand, communicates with several distributors and retailers as it attempts to determine ways to satisfy this demand. Information shared between supply chain partners can only be fully leveraged through process integration. Supply chain business process integration involves collaborative work between buyers and suppliers, joint product development, common systems and shared information. According to Lambert and Cooper (2000), operating an integrated supply chain requires a continuous information flow. However, in many companies, management has reached the conclusion that optimizing the product flows cannot be accomplished without implementing a process approach to the business. The key supply chain processes stated by Lambert (2004)[10] are: Much has been written about demand management. Best-in-Class companies have similar characteristics, which include the following: a) Internal and external collaboration b) Lead time reduction initiatives c) Tighter feedback from customer and market demand d) Customer level forecasting
One could suggest other key critical supply business processes which combine these processes stated by Lambert such as:
- Customer service management
- Procurement
- Product development and commercialization
- Manufacturing flow management/support
- Physical distribution
- Outsourcing/partnerships
- Performance measurement
- Warehousing management
- a) Customer service management process
Customer Relationship Management concerns the relationship between the organization and its customers. Customer service is the source of customer information. It also provides the customer with real-time information on scheduling and product availability through interfaces with the company's production and distribution operations. Successful organizations use the following steps to build customer relationships:
- determine mutually satisfying goals for organization and customers
- establish and maintain customer rapport
- produce positive feelings in the organization and the customers
- b) Procurement process
Strategic plans are drawn up with suppliers to support the manufacturing flow management process and the development of new products. In firms where operations extend globally, sourcing should be managed on a global basis. The desired outcome is a win-win relationship where both parties benefit, and a reduction in time required for the design cycle and product development. Also, the purchasing function develops rapid communication systems, such as electronic data interchange (EDI) and Internet linkage to convey possible requirements more rapidly. Activities related to obtaining products and materials from outside suppliers involve resource planning, supply sourcing, negotiation, order placement, inbound transportation, storage, handling and quality assurance, many of which include the responsibility to coordinate with suppliers on matters of scheduling, supply continuity, hedging, and research into new sources or programs. - c) Product development and commercialization
Here, customers and suppliers must be integrated into the product development process in order to reduce time to market. As product life cycles shorten, the appropriate products must be developed and successfully launched with ever shorter time-schedules to remain competitive. According to Lambert and Cooper (2000), managers of the product development and commercialization process must:
- coordinate with customer relationship management to identify customer-articulated needs;
- select materials and suppliers in conjunction with procurement, and
- develop production technology in manufacturing flow to manufacture and integrate into the best supply chain flow for the product/market combination.
- d) Manufacturing flow management process
The manufacturing process produces and supplies products to the distribution channels based on past forecasts. Manufacturing processes must be flexible to respond to market changes and must accommodate mass customization. Orders are processes operating on a just-in-time (JIT) basis in minimum lot sizes. Also, changes in the manufacturing flow process lead to shorter cycle times, meaning improved responsiveness and efficiency in meeting customer demand. Activities related to planning, scheduling and supporting manufacturing operations, such as work-in-process storage, handling, transportation, and time phasing of components, inventory at manufacturing sites and maximum flexibility in the coordination of geographic and final assemblies postponement of physical distribution operations.
- e) Physical distribution
This concerns movement of a finished product/service to customers. In physical distribution, the customer is the final destination of a marketing channel, and the availability of the product/service is a vital part of each channel participant's marketing effort. It is also through the physical distribution process that the time and space of customer service become an integral part of marketing, thus it links a marketing channel with its customers (e.g., links manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers).
- f) Outsourcing/partnerships
This is not just outsourcing the procurement of materials and components, but also outsourcing of services that traditionally have been provided in-house. The logic of this trend is that the company will increasingly focus on those activities in the value chain where it has a distinctive advantage, and outsource everything else. This movement has been particularly evident in logistics where the provision of transport, warehousing and inventory control is increasingly subcontracted to specialists or logistics partners. Also, managing and controlling this network of partners and suppliers requires a blend of both central and local involvement. Hence, strategic decisions need to be taken centrally, with the monitoring and control of supplier performance and day-to-day liaison with logistics partners being best managed at a local level. - g) Performance measurement
Experts found a strong relationship from the largest arcs of supplier and customer integration to market share and profitability. Taking advantage of supplier capabilities and emphasizing a long-term supply chain perspective in customer relationships can both be correlated with firm performance. As logistics competency becomes a more critical factor in creating and maintaining competitive advantage, logistics measurement becomes increasingly important because the difference between profitable and unprofitable operations becomes more narrow. A.T. Kearney Consultants (1985) noted that firms engaging in comprehensive performance measurement realized improvements in overall productivity. According to experts, internal measures are generally collected and analyzed by the firm including
- Cost
- Customer Service
- Productivity measures
- Asset measurement, and
- Quality.
External performance measurement is examined through customer perception measures and "best practice" benchmarking, and includes 1) customer perception measurement, and 2) best practice benchmarking. - h) Warehousing management
As a case of reducing company cost & expenses, warehousing management is carrying the valuable role against operations. In case of perfect storing & office with all convenient facilities in company level, reducing manpower cost, dispatching authority with on time delivery, loading & unloading facilities with proper area, area for service station, stock management system etc.
Components of supply chain management are as follows: 1. Standardization 2. Postponement 3. Customization
[edit]Theories of supply chain management
Currently there is a gap in the literature available on supply chain management studies: there is no theoretical support for explaining the existence and the boundaries of supply chain management. A few authors such as Halldorsson, et al. (2003), Ketchen and Hult (2006) and Lavassani, et al. (2009) have tried to provide theoretical foundations for different areas related to supply chain by employing organizational theories. These theories include:
[edit]Supply chain centroids
In the study of supply chain management, the concept of centroids has become an important economic consideration. A centroid is a place that has a high proportion of a country’s population and a high proportion of its manufacturing, generally within 500 mi (805 km). In the U.S., two major supply chain centroids have been defined, one near Dayton, Ohio and a second near Riverside, California.
The centroid near Dayton is particularly important because it is closest to the population center of the US and Canada. Dayton is within 500 miles of 60% of the population and manufacturing capacity of the U.S., as well as 60 percent of Canada’s population.[11] The region includes the Interstate 70/75 interchange, which is one of the busiest in the nation with 154,000 vehicles passing through in a day. Of those, anywhere between 30 percent and 35 percent are trucks hauling goods. In addition, the I-75 corridor is home to the busiest north-south rail route east of the Mississippi.[11] [edit]Tax efficient supply chain management
Tax Efficient Supply Chain Management is a business model which consider the effect of Tax in design and implementation of supply chain management. As the consequence of Globalization, business which is cross-nation should pay different tax rates in different countries. Due to the differences, global players have the opportunity to calculate and optimize supply chain based on tax efficiency[12] legally. It is used as a method of gaining more profit for company which owns global supply chain. [edit]Supply chain sustainability
Supply chain sustainability is a business issue affecting an organization’s supply chain or logistics network and is frequently quantified by comparison with SECH ratings. SECH ratings are defined associal, ethical, cultural and health footprints. Consumers have become more aware of the environmental impact of their purchases and companies’ SECH ratings and, along with non-governmental organizations(NGOs), are setting the agenda for transitions to organically-grown foods, anti-sweatshop labor codes and locally-produced goods that support independent and small businesses. Because supply chains frequently account for over 75% of a company’s carbon footprint many organizations are exploring how they can reduce this and thus improve their SECH rating. For example, in July, 2009 the U.S. based Wal-Mart corporation announced its intentions to create a global sustainability index that would rate products according to the environmental and social impact made while the products were manufactured and distributed. The sustainability rating index is intended to create environmental accountability in Wal-Mart's supply chain, and provide the motivation and infrastructure for other retail industry companies to do the same.[13] More recently, the US Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act[14] signed into law by President Obama in July 2010, contained a supply chain sustainability provision in the form of the Conflict Minerals law. This law requires SEC-regulated companies to conduct third party audits of the company supply chains, determine whether any tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold (together referred to as "conflict minerals") is made of up ore mined/sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC), and create a report (available to the general public and SEC) detailing the supply chain due diligence efforts undertaken and the results of the audit.[15] Of course, the chain of suppliers/vendors to these reporting companies will be expected to provide appropriate supporting information. [edit]Components of supply chain management integration
The management components of SCM
The SCM components are the third element of the four-square circulation framework. The level of integration and management of a business process link is a function of the number and level, ranging from low to high, of components added to the link (Ellram and Cooper, 1990; Houlihan, 1985). Consequently, adding more management components or increasing the level of each component can increase the level of integration of the business process link. The literature on business process re-engineering,[16] buyer-supplier relationships,[17] and SCM[18] suggests various possible components that must receive managerial attention when managing supply relationships. Lambert and Cooper (2000) identified the following components: - Planning and control
- Work structure
- Organization structure
- Product flow facility structure
- Information flow facility structure
- Management methods
- Power and leadership structure
- Risk and reward structure
- Culture and attitude
However, a more careful examination of the existing literature[19] leads to a more comprehensive understanding of what should be the key critical supply chain components, the "branches" of the previous identified supply chain business processes, that is, what kind of relationship the components may have that are related to suppliers and customers. Bowersox and Closs states that the emphasis on cooperation represents the synergism leading to the highest level of joint achievement (Bowersox and Closs, 1996). A primary level channel participant is a business that is willing to participate in the inventory ownership responsibility or assume other aspects of financial risk, thus including primary level components (Bowersox and Closs, 1996). A secondary level participant (specialized) is a business that participates in channel relationships by performing essential services for primary participants, including secondary level components, which support primary participants. Third level channel participants and components that support the primary level channel participants and are the fundamental branches of the secondary level components may also be included. Consequently, Lambert and Cooper's framework of supply chain components does not lead to any conclusion about what are the primary or secondary (specialized) level supply chain components (see Bowersox and Closs, 1996, p. 93). That is, what supply chain components should be viewed as primary or secondary, how should these components be structured in order to have a more comprehensive supply chain structure, and how to examine the supply chain as an integrative one (See above sections 2.1 and 3.1).
Reverse supply chain Reverse logistics is the process of managing the return of goods. Reverse logistics is also referred to as "Aftermarket Customer Services". In other words, any time money is taken from a company's warranty reserve or service logistics budget one can speak of a reverse logistics operation. [edit]Supply chain systems and value
Supply chain systems configure value for those that organize the networks. Value is the additional revenue over and above the costs of building the network. Co-creating value and sharing the benefits appropriately to encourage effective participation is a key challenge for any supply system. Tony Hines defines value as follows: “Ultimately it is the customer who pays the price for service delivered that confirms value and not the producer who simply adds cost until that point”[4] [edit]Global supply chain management
Global supply chains pose challenges regarding both quantity and value:
Supply and value chain trends
- Globalization
- Increased cross border sourcing
- Collaboration for parts of value chain with low-cost providers
- Shared service centers for logistical and administrative functions
- Increasingly global operations, which require increasingly global coordination and planning to achieve global optimums
- Complex problems involve also midsized companies to an increasing degree,
These trends have many benefits for manufacturers because they make possible larger lot sizes, lower taxes, and better environments (culture, infrastructure, special tax zones, sophisticated OEM) for their products. Meanwhile, on top of the problems recognized in supply chain management, there will be many more challenges when the scope of supply chains is global. This is because with a supply chain of a larger scope, the lead time is much longer. Furthermore, there are more issues involved such as multi-currencies, different policies and different laws. The consequent problems include:1. different currencies and valuations in different countries; 2. different tax laws (Tax Efficient Supply Chain Management); 3. different trading protocols; 4. lack of transparency of cost and profit.
