Supply Chain Management is Everybody’s Job
The Supply Chain is not a business function, it is a network of companies and Supply Chain Management is the implementation of cross-functional relationships with key customers and suppliers in that network. It is a new business model necessary for an organization's success and every function needs to be involved.
In today’s environment, there is the added pressure to be more socially and environmentally responsible and there are risks which need to be mitigated and managed. Then, there is the complexity created by ever increasing customer requirements and expectations, globalization, the pressure on cost, and the availability and access to resources. On top of this, management is expected to improve profitability, increase revenue growth and capture and protect larger market share. In order to succeed, management must recognize that the ultimate success of an organization depends on the ability to integrate the company’s network of business relationships in a mutually beneficial way.
The management of this network of relationships is supply chain management. Successful supply chain management requires cross-functional integration within the firm and across the network of firms that comprise the supply chain. It is focused the improvements in performance that result from better management of key relationships.
By understanding the supply chain management processes and how they should be implemented, management will better understand the value of more integrated supply chains and how this integration will lead to increased shareholder value and a sustainable competitive advantage.
What is Supply Chain Management?
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"If you are in supply chain management today then complexity is a cancer that you have to fight, and process management is the weapon. This framework develops a robust model of supply chain management processes and properly defines them so that they can be managed. It has enabled our organization to understand that supply chain management is too important to be just a function. Instead it's everybody's job.”
—Tom Blackstock
Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, Coca-Cola North America