The concept of networking is one of the biggest contributors to success in an economy where a symbiotic (or interdependent) approach is fast becoming a reality, as opposed to the stand-alone, self sufficient approach of the past. Ask Steve Jobs what he thinks of building partnerships now in working as Apple’s iCEO as compared to the Apple that he founded in the last seventies.
Supply chain management (SCM) is building and managing these links right from the time you request your suppliers for parts until the time your customer purchases your finished product. While it can be relatively simpler for smaller businesses, it can turn out to be a complex task when it pertains to large organizations that have a plethora of products to offer in the market.
So very simply, supply chain management is a strategy adopted by an organization to track the flow of products, information and finance from the supplier to the customer with the ultimate aim to reduce inventory and create the highest level of customer satisfaction by always having stock available for purchase by the customer.
There are elements that integral to managing this process efficiently of which the customer is the most vital element of all, who on deciding to purchase a company’s product starts the entire SCM process. What will follow is production planning, the purchase of raw materials, taking inventory of raw materials obtained, the manufacturing of the product as well as transporting the product to the customer in time, therefore closing the loop of supply chain management.
Technology is also a vital component of SCM, and is applied in every organization at a strategic, tactical and operational level using Enterprise Resource Planning suites that are developed by SAP and Oracle.
