The document defines supply chain management and describes the typical flow through a supply chain. It then provides more detail on the roles of each member of the supply chain: suppliers provide raw materials to manufacturers, who assemble products and send them to distributors, who hold inventory and ship to retailers, who deal directly with customers. A successful supply chain aims to reach and satisfy the end customer through efficient planning and coordination across each member.

1. WhatIsSupplyChainManagement?
AvercastLLC @avercast

2. SUPPLY CHAIN FLOW
Supplier
Manufacturer
DistributorRetailer
Customer
“Supplychainmanagementencompassestheplanningandmanagementofallactivities
involvedinsourcingandprocurement,conversion,andalllogisticsmanagementactivities.”
-CouncilofSupplyChainManagementProfessionals

3. BREAKITDOWN
Drillingindeeperintoeachofthesegmentsofasupplychain
willrevealtheplanning,management,&executionrequired.

4. SUPPLY CHAIN FLOW
Supplier
Manufacturer
DistributorRetailer
Customer
Thesupplierprovidestherawmaterialsneededtoengineertheproductor
premadeparts.Inanygivensupplychain,therecouldbemultiplesuppliers
involvedtoprovidetheneededmaterials.
Withoutpositivecooperationfromasupplier,itisdifficulttobuildathriving
supplychain.

5. Supplier
Manufacturer
DistributorRetailer
stomer
Thepartsareshippedfromthesuppliertomanufacturer,whoassemblesthe
products.Manufacturersneedestablishedcommunicationwithsuppliersin
ordertoensuretheproductsareshippedoutontime.

6. Manufacturer
DistributorRetailer
Customer
Ingeneral,distributorsholdinventory,takeorders,thenshipordersto
retailersorconsumers.Theyplayapartincustomerrelationsandhave
greaterflexibility thanmanufacturerswithfastorderturnaround.
Successfuldistributorsminimizeleadtimesandfreightcostswiththe
abilitytoorderseveralitemsfromonesupplier(productbundling).

7. Manufacturer
DistributorRetailer
Customer
Inmostcases,retailersdealdirectlywithcustomerorders.Oneroleisto
keeptrackofinventoryatalltimes,sotheycanmanageshipmentsand
demand.Retailersaligncommunicationfromallaspectsofthesupplychain
tostreamlinetheprocess.
Strategicthinkingisrequiredtoensurefastleadtimes,opendistributor
channels,andthehighestdegreeofcustomersatisfaction.

8. Supplier
Manufact
DistributorRetailer
Customer
Ifthecustomerisnotsatisfied,thewholesupplychainprocesshaswastedits
efforts.Thepurposeofasupplychainistoreachandpleasetheenduser.Each
relationshipintheearlierstagesultimatelyrevolvesaroundthecustomer.
“Eliminatinginefficiencies,reducingcosts,andimprovingservicetoyour
customer’scustomerarewhatcradle-to-gravecustomerserviceisallabout.”
–AmyPartridge,ManagingACustomerDrivenSupplyChain

9. SUPPLYCHAINFRAMEWORK
(DAVIDBLANCHARD,SUPPLYCHAINMANAGEMENTBESTPRACTICES)

10. 1. InboundLogistics.Theseareactivitiesassociatedwithreceiving,storing,anddisseminatinginputstothe
product(materialhandling,warehousing,inventorycontrol,transportationscheduling,andreturnsto
suppliers).
2. Operations.Thisistheactivitiesassociatedwithtransforminginputsintothefinalproductform
(machining,packaging,assembly,equipmentmaintenance,testing,printing,andfacilityoperations).
3. OutboundLogistics.Theseareactivitiesassociatedwithcollecting,storing,andphysicallydistributingthe
producttobuyers(finishedgoodswarehousing,materialhandling,freightdelivery,orderprocessing,and
scheduling).
4. SalesandMarketing.Withinasupplychaincontext,thesearetheactivitiesthatinducebuyerstopurchase
aproductandenablethemtobuyit(advertisingpromotions,salesforce,quoting,channelrelations,and
pricing).
5. Service.Thisreferstotheactivitiesassociatedwithprovidingservicetoenhanceormaintainthevalueof
theproduct(installation,repair,training,partssupply,andproductadjustment).

11. WHENDONECORRECTLY,ASUPPLYCHAINWILL:
COMPANYCOSTS
PROFITABILITY

12. Blanchard,David.SupplyChainManagementBestPractices(2ndEdition).Hoboken,NJ,USA:JohnWiley&Sons,2010.ProQuestebrary.Web.
22October2015.
Copyright©2010.JohnWiley&Sons.Allrightsreserved.
Partridge,Amy.“ManagingaCustomer-DrivenSupplyChain.”ThomasPublishingCompany.Dec.2010.Web.26Oct.2015.
www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/managing-a-customer-driven-supply-chain/