SCMG201 Week 1 DQR
SCMG Week 1 DQR
Andrew Stouse
The Supply chain is the single most important sector of any business. A good supply chain can allow a business to thrive and meet its full potential, while a poor supply chain can cause a business to fail very quick. The supply chain is made up of 5 stages: Suppliers, Producers, Distributors, Retailers, and consumers. I have seen many companies with slight differences between their supply chain model, but all of them have these stages in one form or another. Suppliers are responsible for sourcing the raw materials needed in order to make the product. Producers are responsible for manufacturing the product. Distributors then take the finished product and distribute it to various locations (Take for example Walmart DCs). From there, Distributors move products into retailers where consumers can purchase the product off the shelves. There are 3 main activities in the supply chain: Coordination, Information Sharing, and Collaboration, all of which are critical in the success of creating an effective and efficient supply chain. Coordination involves the movement or transportation of the material/products. This could be the movement of raw materials to the producer. Often times supply chain is used interchangeably with the term “logistics”. This is very incorrect and the Coordination activity is often where people make that mistake. Information sharing is the sharing of important information throughout the supply chain. This could be something like supply and demand, sales forecasting, promotions and campaigns in order to sell more product. The members in each stage of the supply chain need to be aware of information like this, because it will affect every single stage of the supply chain (More productions means more raw materials, more trucks and drivers to transport, more space in a warehouse, etc.). Collaboration is the collaboration of all members within the supply chain to work as one. One single change to a product can affect members in every other stage. (If the product changes and needs more of xyz material, members of procurement need to figure out where they will purchase from, producers need to adapt their production line to accommodate, etc.)
The organization of the supply chain can be broken into 4 categories as shown in Figure 1.5. These categories are: Sourcing, Logistics, Marketing, and Operations. This is the most effective way to divide the supply chain. If we refer back to my example of Coordination, it is most effective to have a department or team solely dedicated to the transportation throughout the supply chain, otherwise, members of procurement would not only have to figure out where to source materials from, but also figure out how to transport the materials to the producers. Sourcing is working with suppliers to obtain the materials needed to make the product. Operations will then oversee and manage the actual manufacturing of the product. Marketing will connect the product to consumers, and throughout all those categories, Logistics will be handling the movement or transportation of all of it.
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DORIAN WALKER
Supply chains must follow a four-stage process to be successful. Planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and shipping are all parts of this process. The consequences of missing any of these phases may be disastrous. During the planning stage, a company must select whether to manufacture or aquire essential items. Throughout this procedure, the emphasis must be on cost minimization. Once soures have been identified, contracts must be negotiated and excuted to protect both the company and the provider. After these elements are in place, businesses may continue ahead with product development and distribution to wholesalers, retailers, or consumers directly.
Strategic, tactical, amd operational activites are all part of the supply chain. both strategic and tactical teas operate in similar way, focusing on monitoring merchandise in storage, acquiring incentives and electricity, and adjusting transportation systems as needed. Operational operations include inspecting real time data in terms of manufaturing, scheduling , and shipping as well as more in depth and concentrated look into everyday procedures involved in the supply chain network.
Supply chain management is critical in lowering cost and preventing bottlenecks in an organization's capacity to create goods and improve revenues. One of the most crucial parts of successful company is the time management fator associated to supply chain networks, as this emphasis guarantees that firms can continue to satisfy demand for their goods and exceed customer expectations. When this process breaks down, undesirable consequences might emerge, resulting in a drop in corpate success.
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