Logistics and Supply Chain Management - Essay Example

In the modern world, when supply chain management and the philosophy of logistics are combined in an efficient manner a company can become richer and more powerful than any emperor of the past. Supply chain management not only allows the right people to have the right things at the right time, it also makes sure that there is no wastage in the process and the overall costs of the business are reduced (Van Hoek, 2005). Every business decision and every business choice comes with an associated cost which must be borne by the shareholders or the owners of the business which means that costs need to be reduced to ensure a healthy profit.

Supply chain management does exactly that by cutting down costs in several important areas of business (Christopher, 2005). Lummus and Demarie (2006) give the example of supply chain management experts such as Renee Gregoire and James Correll who discussed the importance of supply chain management at the end of the last century. The future predictions made by them suggested that global competition and heightened customer demands of quality and speed would cause drastic changes in supply chain management.

They further suggested that heavy industry, manufacturing and retail would be primary areas in which the supply chain management process as well as the philosophy of logistics would change in a significant manner. Of course the threats to the global supply chain today extend far deeper than a lack of insight or mismanagement since security is also a top concern for supply chain management professionals (Blanchard, 2006). We certainly find this to be true today if we examine the current structures of the global corporations which have to deal with new threats against them and new hostilities coming from various sources (Blanchard, 2006).

However, in business terms, the primary motivation is the rise in customer expectations that seek individualized products to be delivered to them in record time.