What is a Supply Chain?
A supply chain is the end-to-end processes, vendors, networks and other infrastructure necessary for producing and delivering a final product or service, from the suppliers of raw materials to the end user. Supply chain management entails predicting and managing demand, finding source materials and parts, production scheduling (where and when), manufacturing, assembly, testing, inventory storage, distribution, order tracking and delivery.
The supply chain — a term now commonly used internationally — encompasses every effort involved in producing and delivering a final product or service, from the supplier’s supplier to the customer’s customer . Supply chain management includes managing supply and demand, sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing and assembly, warehousing and inventory tracking, order entry and order management, distribution across all channels, and delivery to the customer. Due to its wide scope, supply chain management must address complex interdependencies; in effect creating an “extended enterprise” that reaches far beyond the factory door. Today, material and service suppliers, channel supply partners (wholesalers / distributors, retailers), and customers themselves, as well as supply chain management consultants, software product suppliers and system developers, are all key players in supply-chain management.
