BU385 Chapter 11: Supply Chain Management
Document Summary
Physical movement of material (end of chain) Exchange of information and money (beginning of chain) Suppliers manufacturing centre distributors retail outlets consumer. Forecast requirements to determine how much to make. Manage information i. e. cost management, price list generation and distribution. Schedule not just how much to make but when to make it. Prime objective of scm is to get product to the marketplace as efficiently (i. e. less costly) as possible to increase the firm"s effectiveness in meeting consumer demand. Many retailers each with a little variability in their orders more variability for a fewer number of wholesalers even more variability for a single producer. Major cause of this is slow and/or erratic reaction to a change in demand/order due to lack of end-of-line demand visibility, long lead times, inexperience, and lack of understanding of the impact of one"s action on supplier. Causes: isolation of manufacturing from the retail sector, errors in forecasting, promotional pricing, trade show effect.
