Supply Chain Management is everybody’s business

"If you are in supply chain management today then complexity is a cancer that you have to fight, and process management is the weapon. This framework develops a robust model of supply chain management processes and properly defines them so that they can be managed. It has enabled our organization to understand that supply chain management is too important to be just a function. Instead it's everybody's job.”

—Tom Blackstock
Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, Coca-Cola North America

In the information age Supply Chain is not adopted as a business function anymore, but approached as a network of SCM frameworks and other industrial standard frameworks. It is the implementation of cross-functional relationships with key customers and suppliers in that network, thereby enabling new business models necessary for organizations to succeed in every function involved.

In today’s environment, there is the added pressure to be more socially and environmentally responsible and there are risks which need to be mitigated and managed. Then, there is the complexity created by ever increasing customer requirements and expectations, globalization, the pressure on cost, and the availability and access to resources. On top of this, management is expected to improve profitability, increase revenue growth and capture and protect larger market share.

In order to succeed, management must recognize that the ultimate success of an organization depends on the ability to integrate the company’s network of business relationships in a mutually beneficial way.

With this understanding, every business organization irrespective of the industry as a part to play in the supply chain processes. Your job role is a node of the chain which is dependent on others and of which other must rely on your quality output.

For your business organization meet the demands  or standardization in quality of product and services, you need to answer the following questions;

• ·         How effective are your business processes adopted in my organization?
• ·         How well as information technology been adopted to automate the business processes?
• ·         How do we track business performance in line with Supply Chain Management processes?
• ·         Is the quality of data from our business organizations dependable for others to rely on without issues?
• ·         As business owners, how well do we invest in the skill set of our employees?
• ·         Do we align our standards with industry standards?

By understanding the supply chain management process and how it should be implemented, you will be able to better understand the quality of value expected to build a sustainable business and global economy at large.