Supply chain management strives to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and streamline logistical operations. Supply chain management is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates production, shipment, distribution and transportation management.

What is the Supply Chain Management Cycle?

The supply chain management cycle refers to five logistical stages that management goes through in order to acquire products. The first stage, planning, is when decision makers strategically identify needed materials and resources. At this time, supply chain managers usually develop goals and metrics. The next stage, sourcing, is when companies carefully select suppliers based on price, quality and delivery options. The following stage, production, is either when supply chain partners or internal departments manufacture the target materials. The delivery stage involves transportation and logistical coordination. The final alternative stage, return, is when defective or unnecessary products are returned. These four stages must be carefully monitored and synchronized in order to ensure a smooth supply chain flow.

What is Supply Chain Management Software?

Global supply chain management is very challenging, because logistical professionals must simultaneously process and coordinate massive amounts of transportation data, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This includes trucking, railroad, container ships and warehouse schedules. For international shipments, it also includes mandatory customs paperwork, such as the Automated Export System (AES) filing of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department. Supply chain management software empowers logistical professionals to monitor and manage every supply chain stage and process. These software programs are designed to integrate with AES, ERP and other popular software programs. These programs also create standard shipping documentation, such as bill of ladings and shipping invoices.

What is Supply Chain Integration?

The effectiveness of any supply chain depends on how well the different parties integrate their processes and systems together. To demonstrate how this works, consider a national retail chain and their suppliers. It is in the best interest of all parties to integrate and synchronize their software systems and processes together. In this way, the national retailer’s supply chain software will automatically order materials from vendor distribution centers, who will send the shipments according to the retailer’s specific instructions and preferences. As supplier-buyer relationships improve, so does accuracy, timeliness and efficiency. A synchronized supply chain gives companies a competitive edge in their industry.

What Technology is Used in Supply Chain Management?

Proper supply chain management is only possible through comprehensive programs, such as supply chain management and warehouse information management systems. In order to physically track and process inventory, many companies use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. These are sophisticated barcodes that identify the product, the customer and supplier and delivery locations. RFID tags are actually programmable and can include things like manufacturer ID, shipping container number and even expiration dates for perishable foods. RFID tags provide real-time information that increases logistical accuracy and organizational. Regular barcodes are an inexpensive alternative that many warehouses will use to manually track and process shipments.

Related Resource: MBA in Healthcare Management

Supply chain management is the art and science of logistically organizing and processing materials. The field of supply chain management is a diverse field with distinct career opportunities, such as logistics coordinator, supply planner and inventory analyst.