Meaning Of Supply Chain Management

Introduction

Supply chain management

Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services. It includes the movement and storage of raw materials work-in-process inventory and finished goods from the point of origin to point of consumption.

Meaning and definition of supply chain management

“Supply Chain Management is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the operations of the supply chain with the purpose of satisfying the customer 's requirement as efficiently as possible. Supply Chain spans all movement and storage of raw materials, Work-in-process, inventory and finished goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption.”

According to the CSCMP , a professional association, that developed

The council of Logistics Management defines supply chain management as "the systemic, strategic coordination, of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain for the purpose of improving long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a

Need for effective Materials management was duly recognized. The advancement in Information Technology , witnessing application of complicated softwares for tracking and managing inventories through LAN and WAN became competitive factors. Concepts such as JIT and TQM helped the processing on the shop floor. The origin of supply chain management can be traced to 80s.

The 80s, saw a dramatic change in the business scenario all over the world due to globalization and liberalization.

Low cost ,high quality product and customer delight became the buzz words for the industry. Increased dependence on JIT and TQM methodologies created the vision for strategic partnerships.

Development in IT further reduced the national boundary concepts. The first mention of the term supply chain management was found in a paper published in 1982 in the US.

Market globalization also presented a great opportunity to reach out to high potential global markets.

This needed relook of the way inventory and logistics were being done.

The challenges associated with enhancement in quality, manufacturing efficiency, customer service and new product design and development also