Assignment 1

Definitions of Supply chain Management

To increase profitability of an organization and achieve at-most customer satisfaction,
through service or production, there occur the need for efficient coordination between
various flows and process occurring throughout supply chain. Supply chain and its
management have been defined as follows by various sources:
1. The management of flow of physical goods, information, manpower, finance etc is
simply called as SCM.
2. S.C.M is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers,
warehouses and stores so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right
quantity to right location at the right time, in order to minimize system wide costs while
satisfying service level requirements.
3. Supply chain management is the streamlining of a business' supply-side activities to
maximize customer value and to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Supply
chain management (SCM) represents an effort by suppliers to develop and implement
supply chains that are as efficient and economical as possible. Supply chains cover
everything from production, to product development, to the information systems needed
to direct these undertakings. (investopedia)
4. Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities
involved in sourcing and procurement, conversation and all logistics management
activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel
partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers and
customers. In essence, SCM integrates supply and demand management within and
across companies. [Council of SCM professionsals.]
5. SCM is the integration of key business process from end user through original suppliers
that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other
stakeholders. [ Ohio state university GSC forum]
6. The Supply chain encompasses every effort involved in producing and delivering a final
product or services from the suppliers supplier to the customers customer. Supply
chain management includes managing supply and demand, sourcing raw materials and
parts, manufacturing and assemble, warehousing and inventory tracking, order entry and

order management, distribution across all channels, and delivery to the customer. [Supply
chain council]
7. The systematic, strategic, coordination of the traditional business functions within a
particular company and across business within the supply chain, for the purposes of
improving the long term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain
as a whole. SCM is a management process that deals with inbound and outbound flows
from the perspective of the focal organization, its suppliers, and its customers.
[University of Tennessee SC research Group]
8. The movement of materials as they flow from their source to the end customer. Supply
Chain includes purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, customer
service; demand planning, supply planning and Supply Chain management. It is made up
of the people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product from its
supplier to customer. Although this Supply Chain definition sounds very simple,
effective management of a Supply Chain can be a real challenge.
[http://www.supplychaindefinitions.com/]

9.

supply chain comprises of the following three functions:

i.
ii.
iii.

supply of materials to a manufacturer;

Manufacturing process;
Distribution of finished goods through a network of distributors and retailers to a
final customer.

Companies involved in various stages of this process are linked to each other through a supply
chain. To facilitate the flow of products, information is shared up and down the supply chain, i.e.
with suppliers and clients. This sharing of information enables all parties to plan appropriately to
meet current and future needs. Numerous goals can be achieved through successful supply chain
management:

inventory can be minimized

costs can be reduced
product time to market can be improved
flexibility can be enhanced

The more the companies within a supply chain are able to integrate and coordinate their
activities, the more likely they'll be to optimize the flow of goods from supplier to customer and
to react efficiently to changes in demand.

"Supply Chain Management"

For the purpose of the supply chain sector study conducted by the CSCSC's predecessor
organization, the Canadian Logistics Skills Committee, the following definition of supply chain
management was borrowed from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals:
Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities
involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management
activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel
partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and
customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand
management within and across companies.
Supply chain management is an integrating function with primary responsibility for
linking major business functions and business processes within and across companies
into a cohesive and high-performing business model. It includes all of the logistics
management activities noted above, as well as manufacturing operations, and it drives
coordination of processes and activities with and across marketing, sales, product design,
and finance and information technology.