What is supply chain management?

Supply Chain is a chain of all stake holders involved from production till the distribution of the goods at end user's door. May it be the producer, Wholesaler, distributor, Transport company or warehouse. You name it and they are part of Supply Chain Process. 

To manage the chain in the way that it makes the process cost effective and time efficient is Supply Chain Management. Supply Chain Management makes it a win win situation for all the stake holders because the chain is only successful if every part of it is working efficiently and effectively. 

The concept of Supply Chain Management is based on two core ideas. The first is that practically every product that reaches an end user represents the cumulative effort of multiple organizations. These organizations are referred to collectively as the supply chain.

The second idea is that while supply chains have existed for a long time, most organizations have only paid attention to what was happening within their “four walls.” Few businesses understood, much less managed, the entire chain of activities that ultimately delivered products to the final customer. The result was disjointed and often ineffective supply chains.

Supply chain management is the design and management of seamless, value-added processes across organizational boundaries to meet the real needs of the end customer.