Supply chain operations and concepts - Research Paper Example

his endeavor, the rise of the computer age has provided some tools that reduce the level of paperwork in the supply chain while it has also blown apart many of the preconceived ideas regarding territory and boundary. Now, not only are companies attempting to compete with regional and national firms, but must also fend off the advances of international organizations while attempting to gain footholds in new countries. This introduces differing sets of criteria for the supply chain manager including the production of products, governmental regulations or specifications and available technology or resources each of which must be addressed before a product can be offered in a new or old market.

To help cope with these multiple concurrent concerns, operations managers and scientists have developed a wide range of strategy sets that are capable of addressing each concern independently or a variety of concerns concurrently depending upon the operation of the firm which is further defined by the type of product produced and the methods by which it is created and delivered. Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion and all logistics management behaviors.

It also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers or customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. Logistics management is the element of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements (College of Business Administration, 2005).

Many types of businesses and organizations most likely to employ supply chain managers include communication, consulting, military,