Supply Chain Management

Table of Contents

I. IntroductionвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦..3

II. Defining Supply Chain ManagementвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦.3-4

III. History of Supply Chain ManagementвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦...4-6

IV. Supply Chain Management in Vendor-managed inventoryвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦.6

V. VMI AnalysisвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦..7-8

VI. ConclusionвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦.9

VII. ReferencesвЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦Ð²Ð‚¦10

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Supply Chain Management creating the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)

Introduction

As consumers in a busy everyday world we want things fast and the more demand the faster the supply and the demand for management of the different systems within a supply chain. Supply chain management is divided into many different tasks and developing tasks that control the aspect of raw materials all the way to the actual ending product demanded by the customer. Supply chain management is complex and has many different aspects of control and it is important that the managers within the management system know the details and the way the demand in control the chain management of the system. There is a need for supply chain management because there is a need to improve operations, competitive pressures, the need to manage inventories, etc (Stevenson pg 506). In order to increase supply chain management effectiveness and create a vendor-managed inventory (VMI), according to Stevenson author of Production Management, “Vendor-managed inventory” is where vendors monitor goods and replenish retail inventories when supplies are low. This is a great way to put the vendor in close surveillance of the product and keep the management in close proximity to create a real time inventory system.

Definition of Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management enables the appropriate flow of goods including right products, right time, right place, right volume, right price/cost and services from raw

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materials to manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and finally to the end customer. To do this, it provides for the flow of appropriate information and movement of money through

the chain. It is called a chain because it facilitates the movement or flow of products, information and finances through a series of links from supplier to supplier, and on to the customer. According to William Stevenson the author of “Operations Management” he states that, “Supply Chain Management is the strategic coordination of business functions within a business organization and throughout its supply chain for the purpose of integrating supply and demand management” (Stevenson pg 504). He also states that supply chain managers who are responsible across the organization for organizing and managing supply and demand within for the whole business organization (Stevenson pg 504).

Brief History

The term Supply Chain Management is relatively new. The concept has evolved from a number of areas but the main area is logistics. It seems to me that logistics evolved into almost what Supply Chain Management is today. Then, for whatever reason, the new name was coined and it evolved a bit more. That is probably an oversimplified perspective on my part, but nevertheless it is interesting to consider how Supply Chain Management became what it is today. One could say that supply chains have always existed. In prehistoric times, groups would work out how many bison, or whatever, they needed to feed their clan, ensure they had the tools needed to do the job, then go out and hunt the bison, bring it back, others would prepare and cook the food, and the group

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would consume it. As society developed, trade became an integral part of the chain, initially in the form of barter and then later using money.

The creation of retailing and wholesaling contributed to the lengthening of the chain. More middle people got involved in the form of activities, such as goods brokering, insurance and transportation. Eventually, the chain of links joining suppliers of the various raw materials to consumers of the finished product was long and complex (Metcalfe pg 55). The management of the chain was done in discrete links rather than as a whole. Large inventory stocks were the norm to guard against unknowns from further down the supply chain. Until about the 1970s, the supply chain was mainly driven by the supplier. The products were presented to the marketplace, and the customers either bought them or they didn’t. The usual example quoted is the Ford concept that “the car is available in any color as long as it is black”. The focus was therefore on production and manufacturing logistics. It is not clear precisely when things changed to being customer driven, but it most likely happened slowly and in some industries more than others. In the 1970s, it was evident that the customer “pull” was more important