Fierce competition in today’s global markets, the introduction of products with short life cycles, and the heightened expectations of customers have forced business enterprises to invest in, and focus attention on, the relationships with customers and suppliers. Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become part of the senior management agenda since the 1990s. Executives are becoming aware that the successful coordination, integration and management of key business processes across members of the supply chain will determine the ultimate success of the single enterprise.
According to Christopher businesses no longer compete as solely autonomous entities, but rather as supply chains. The increased interest in SCM has been spurred by developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that enable the frequent exchange of huge amounts of information for coordination purposes.
Consequently, there is a need and an opportunity for a joint approach of chain partners towards the establishment of more effective and efficient supply chains. This course presents an overview of the background, theory and current practices of SCM in primarily industrial supply chains that produce, trade and distribute merchandise. First, we explore the concept ‘supply chain’ and discuss its hiccups and potential improvements.
Upon Completion of this course, student will be able to:
- Define the term supply chain management.
- Describe how supply chain networks operate.
- List examples of supply chains.
- Describe what is meant by integrated supply chain networks.
- Describe best practices in supply chain networks.