Tlmt341

1. What is your definition of Supply Chain Management? My definition of Supply Chain Management (SCM) would be the overall management of the life cycle of a particular good from the initial product marketing until the product reaches the consumer. This includes oversight of the procurement of raw materials, product research, development, and manufacturing, and transportation management. All of these areas must be synced in order to produce a cost effective product in order to ensure profitability and consumer satisfaction.

2. List and describe the components of supply chain management. The components of SCM are planning and development, procurement, manufacturing, inventory and delivery.  Planning and development refers to the marketing of the product to determine the target consumer group. This the initial step used to determine if the requirement for the item offsets the overall cost to produce and deliver the product. Procurement is the acquisition of the necessary raw materials from suppliers required to manufacture the product. Manufacturing refers to the production of the item. It is critical that adequate personnel and facilities are available to produce the item. A careful analysis should be done to determine manufacturing facility personnel requirements to keep production cost low.

Inventory and Delivery are very important components of SCM. Failure to maintain proper product inventory may lead to availability concerns with distributors or consumers, thus they may utilize a competitor’s product creating a loss in profit. The timely delivery of goods to consumer is vital to the overall success of any product.

3.  What are issues or challenges facing today’s supply chain? Some of the issues facing today’s supply chain are production cost, competition, and consumer demand. With the ever changing cost of fuel, manufacturing cost often fluctuate rendering it almost impossible to forecast future production cost. Competition, particularly in the...