Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management has provided retailers with the opportunity to obtain higher levels of operational efficiency through the alignment of suppliers ‘ logistical systems with their own . Increased marketing and distribution efficiency as a result of supply chain management has been the focus of much of the strategic development of large retailers and their supply partners in the last decade , but retailer-supplier partnering is not only available to large organizations

Supply chain management can be used to create efficient customer response systems that respond to customer demands more efficiently [banner_entry_middle]

br Supply chain management means integration of supplier , distributor , and customer logistics requirements into one cohesive process . Supply chain can be defined as a collection of physical entities , such as manufacturing plants , distribution centers , conveyances , retail outlets people , and information , which are linked together into processes supplying goods or services from source through consumption (Naylor 2002 :3

The company under analysis is Wal-Mart , a global retailer . Wal-Mart merchandises a wide range of goods from tables to combs . Wal-Mart ‘s continuous replenishment system is an example of efficient supply chain management . The case of Wal-Mart shows that supply chain management integrates the supplier , distributor , and customer logistics requirements . Goods or services start out as raw materials and move through the company ‘s logistics and production system until they reach customers . To manage the supply chain , a company tries to eliminate delays and cut the amount of resources along the way (Naylor , 2002 :6 This can be accomplished by streamlining the company ‘s internal operations or by reducing inventory costs by asking suppliers to put off delivery of goods – and their payments – until the moment they are needed . The main supply chain processes involves ccustomer service and product planning , flow management and distribution , partnership and measurement of performance (Naylor 2002 . Wal-Mart has famously invited its major suppliers to jointly develop powerful supply chain partnerships . These are designed to increase product flow efficiency and , consequently , Wal-Mart ‘s profitability (Supply Chain Management 2003

Information systems make efficient supply chain management possible by integrating demand , forecasting , materials , processing inventory allocation , fulfillment , transportation services receiving , invoicing , and payment (Naylor , 2002 :7 . Supply chain management systems can create value not only by lowering inventory costs but also by delivering the product or service more rapidly to the customer . A major supplier and integrated account should develop an aligned business plan and scorecard . The joint business plan will not be as customized as in the case of a strategic account . The plan should have a shorter time horizon , perhaps one year , and the relationship should be collaborative and trustworthy (Supply Chain Management 2003 . The flow of materials involve daily distribution planning scheduling , forecasting , inventory and forecast demand (Chase , Jacobs 2003

A primary benefit of modular production system is that it allows Wal-Mart to change the sequence in which activities are performed . For example , Wal-Mart ‘s grocery departments were having difficulty matching supply and demand . The problem was that customers would often change their s at the… [banner_entry_footer]