When Keith Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, used the term "supply chain management" it entered the public domain for the first time in 1982 (Brigham, 2014). Common and accepted definitions of supply chain management are managing the upstream and downstream flow of materials, finished goods or related information among supplier, manufacturer, reseller and final consumer is supply chain management. Another definition is “Supply chain management is the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole” (Google Books, 2014).
Supply chain management is a strategic function within an organization. The strategies require a view of all the systems in the totality right from the supplier’s supplier to the delivery point. If an organization is working in silos, the SCM systems cannot be beneficial, and the progress of the company is hampered.
I choose this topic as this function is of prime significance when it comes to improving the financial performance of any company. A proper SCM practice in place can help a company save enough money on its obsolete inventory and proper forecasting. Costs are drastically lowered throughout the chain, and the focus is on adding value by removing potential bottlenecks.
Supply chain is one of the most widely researched topics. This topic is of much significance to everyone who is a link in the supply chain be it manufacturer, the logistics provider or a supplier. There are researches done by many institutions on hot topics of supply chain which can help facilitate anyone researching the topic (Scm.ncsu.edu, 2014). CSCMP is a body that helps learn new and updated concepts of supply chain. They hold conferences and certification exams across the world to spread about the efficiency of supply chain practices.
References
Brigham, E. (2014). Multi National Business Finance (11th ed.). Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=_qssAYg_oHQC&lpg=PT63&ots=RWg3XjWD3D&dq=Booz%20Allen%20Hamilton%2C%20used%20it%20in%20an%
Scm.ncsu.edu,. (2014). (SCM) Supply Chain Management Terms & Definitions - SCM | Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) | North Carolina State University. Retrieved 23 October 2014, from http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/scm-terms
Google Books,. (2014). e-Study Guide for: Global Supply Chain Management and International Logistics by Alan Branch, ISBN 9780415398459. Retrieved 23 October 2014, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=mURZFkvw6E8C&lpg=PT11&ots=TPbXK4M8fz&dq=Common%20and%20accepted%20definitions%20of%20
