Evolution Of Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Evolution of supply chain management and logistics domain has seen several factors, both global and local, interplay and interact with each other to refine the supply chain practices. This refinement of supply chain management and logistics practices are endless as newer and newer challenges emerge in the volatile and ever changing global market place. An effective supply chain can make companies profitable as well as adaptive to the changing market requirements. The key to smooth functioning of any such effective supply chain is based on the availability of information. Information technology (IT) provides the tools required to extract the information, process and analyses it and provide valuable insight which help in optimal decision

Supply chain and logistics play a vital role in establishing and maintaining these exchanges. Supply chain consist of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling customer request. The words supply chain and logistics are used interchangeably, though there is a subtle difference between these two terms. While supply chain is more strategic in nature, logistics is more operation oriented (Subrta Mitra,2002, ebctc.ecu).According to modern literature logistics form the back bone of supply chain. Much research had been carried out in the field of supply chain and logistics and the interest by academicians and practitioners has only increased as time passes by .This has led to reduced operational expenses, better delivery management resulting in improved customer satisfaction, helping firms to evolve as more competitive in terms of cost, quality, delivery and flexibility. Emergence of multinational companies and as a result of globalization the whole world is mangled in a maze of Supply chain network which has become more complex to manage. The logistic service providers known as third party logistics (3PL) providers whose business model is to help companies take care of the complex supply chain and logistics environment through customized logistical support. This helps companies to leverage on the

But little has been discussed about the implementation and maintenance of technology enabled systems which entails lot of project management skills. In this section implementation of two such technology enabled mechanisms are discussed to dig deep in to the project management aspects involved. The first case is the implementation of integrated supply chain management system (ISCM).The second case analyses the implementation of a typical RFID system.

Managerial implications of ISCM project implementation

Source : IMA Institute of Management Accountants Publication Number 99347,1999 ISCM implementation project management learning

The diagram above shows the implementation of ISCM project. The entire implementation is divide into three parts. The first is the concept phase, followed by the conversion phase and then the implementation part. This is a typical case were IT is laid upon the existing processes of a company. The challenge for any project manager here is to formulate a vision and strategy for fitting in the IT capabilities. In this sense it is different from a project which function as a standalone unit taking inputs and giving out a processed form of the input as its output. The concept phase and conversion phase form 80% of the project implementation