In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) deals with a system of procurement, operations management, logistics and marketing channels, so that the raw materials can be converted into a finished product and delivered to the end customer. A more narrow definition of the supply chain management is the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronising supply with demand and measuring performance globally". This can include the movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, finished goods, and end to end order fulfilment from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Interconnected, interrelated or interlinked networks, channels and node businesses combine in the provision of products and services required by end customers in a supply chain.
Logistics is a part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption according to the needs of customers. Logistics management is a component that holds the supply chain together. The resources managed in logistics may include tangible goods such as materials, equipment, and supplies, as well as food and other consumable items.
A supply chain, sometimes expressed as a "supply-chain", is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers. Meanwhile, supply chain management deals with the flow of goods within the supply chain in the most efficient manner.
Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it, and a distributor is a business involved in the distribution stage of the value chain. Distribution can be done directly by the producer or service provider, or using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries. Distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix: the other three elements being product, pricing, and promotion.
Robustness is the property of being strong and healthy in constitution. When it is transposed into a system, it refers to the ability of tolerating perturbations that might affect the system's functional body. In the same line robustness can be defined as "the ability of a system to resist change without adapting its initial stable configuration". "Robustness in the small" refers to situations wherein perturbations are small in magnitude, which considers that the "small" magnitude hypothesis can be difficult to verify because "small" or "large" depends on the specific problem. Conversely, "Robustness in the large problem" refers to situations wherein no assumptions can be made about the magnitude of perturbations, which can either be small or large. It has been discussed that robustness has two dimensions: resistance and avoidance.
Reverse logistics encompasses all operations related to the upstream movement of products and materials. It is "the process of moving goods from their typical final destination for the purpose of capturing value, or proper disposal. Remanufacturing and refurbishing activities also may be included in the definition of reverse logistics." Growing green concerns and advancement of green supply chain management concepts and practices make it all the more relevant. The number of publications on the topic of reverse logistics have increased significantly over the past two decades. The first use of the term "reverse logistics" in a publication was by James R. Stock in a White Paper titled "Reverse Logistics," published by the Council of Logistics Management in 1992. The concept was further refined in subsequent publications by Stock (1998) in another Council of Logistics Management book, titled Development and Implementation of Reverse Logistics Programs, and by Rogers and Tibben-Lembke (1999) in a book published by the Reverse Logistics Association titled Going Backwards: Reverse Logistics Trends and Practices. The reverse logistics process includes the management and the sale of surplus as well as returned equipment and machines from the hardware leasing business. Normally, logistics deal with events that bring the product towards the customer. In the case of reverse logistics, the resource goes at least one step back in the supply chain. For instance, goods move from the customer to the distributor or to the manufacturer.
A supply network is a pattern of temporal and spatial processes carried out at facility nodes and over distribution links, which adds value for customers through the manufacturing and delivery of products. It comprises the general state of business affairs in which all kinds of material are transformed and moved between various value-added points to maximize the value added for customers. In the semiconductor industry, for example, work-in-process moves from fabrication to assembly, and then to the test house. The term "supply network" refers to the high-tech phenomenon of contract manufacturing where the brand owner does not touch the product. Instead, she coordinates with contract manufacturers and component suppliers who ship components to the brand owner. This business practice requires the brand owner to stay in touch with multiple parties or "network" at once.
Materials management is a core supply chain function and includes supply chain planning and supply chain execution capabilities. Specifically, materials management is the capability firms use to plan total material requirements. The material requirements are communicated to procurement and other functions for sourcing. Materials management is also responsible for determining the amount of material to be deployed at each stocking location across the supply chain, establishing material replenishment plans, determining inventory levels to hold for each type of inventory, and communicating information regarding material needs throughout the extended supply chain.
Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is "the implementation of strategies to manage both everyday and exceptional risks along the supply chain based on continuous risk assessment with the objective of reducing vulnerability and ensuring continuity".
The Journal of Supply Chain Management is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1965. The journal covers supply chain management, operations management, marketing, strategic management, and social network analysis. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell and the editors-in-chief are Wendy L. Tate, Andreas Wieland, and Tingting Yan.
Yossi Sheffi is the Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He founded or co-founded five companies, has authored numerous scientific publications and nine books.
A Master of Science in Supply Chain Management is a type of postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree is typically studied for in Supply Chain Management and Logistics.
John Thomas Mentzer was a University of Tennessee marketing and logistics professor and author of non-fiction books.
In commerce, global supply-chain management is defined as the distribution of goods and services throughout a trans-national companies' global network to maximize profit and minimize waste. Essentially, global supply chain-management is the same as supply-chain management, but it focuses on companies and organizations that are trans-national.
Global supply-chain governance (SCG) is a term that originated around the mid-2000. It is a governing system of rules, structures and institutions that guide, control, and lead supply chains, through policies and regulations, with the goal of creating greater efficiency. Governing systems are put into place by different actors, such as international organizations and individual firms, within the global supply chain. The global supply chain is the process of transforming raw materials into an end product, which often occurs in several different countries, moving products and services from producers to consumers. Through increased globalization and international codependency, this process is expanding. This has led to the idea that there should be governing system in place to help guide these global supply chains to perform more efficiently.
Remko I. Van Hoek is a professor of Supply Chain Management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He has held many executive roles including Disney and PwC. He is also a fellow of Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Panos (Panagiotis) Kouvelis is the Emerson Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain, Operations, and Technology and director of The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. He is best known for his work on supply chain management, supply chain finance, operational excellence, and risk management.
Supply chain resilience is "the adaptive capability of the supply chain to prepare for unexpected events, respond to disruptions, and recover from them by maintaining continuity of operations at the desired level of connectedness and control over structure and function".
Robert Sroufe is a scholar of sustainability, integrated management, high-performance buildings, supply chain management and operations. He is the Murrin Chair of Global Competitiveness at Duquesne University and the Palumbo-Donahue Graduate School of Business. His research utilizes a systemic outlook to understand the triple bottom line performance (extending TBL to the contemporary term Integrated Bottom Line metrics reported to internal and external stakeholders. More specifically, he focuses on what the most successful systems and tools for measuring and managing the relationship between performance and environmental, social and financial practices of businesses. His list of publications are primarily about: how firms can create productive management systems, integrate them across business functions, and measure and manage their performance; the main drivers of sustainability; the process and importance of existing buildings becoming high-performance buildings; UN Sustainable Development Goals; and the strategic change process that occurs during a firms sustainable development. His Ph.D. was conferred by Michigan State University.
Nada R. Sanders is an American university professor specializing in forecasting and supply-chain management. She is the Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. She is also a research scholar, academic editor, reference book author, keynote speaker, business consultant, and corporate board member. Her forecasts describing the impact of the economic crisis on supply disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic received media coverage. Her latest book The Humachine explores the influence of artificial intelligence over world business and culture.
