"Supply chain management--delivering the right product to the right place, at the right time and at the right price--is one of the most powerful engines of business transformation."

Supply chain management is a concept that is well known and well used throughout the business world today. It has brought along many changes in business that have produced long term benefits for companies and, most importantly, consumers.

A supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution channels that give a company the ability to receive materials and supplies, manufacture goods, and distribute goods to wholesalers, retailers, and customers. Supply chains exist in both manufacturing and service industries.

Supply chains come in two basic formats: single stage, and multi-stage. A single stage supply chain is typically found within a company and incorporates every function performed by the firm. Some of the processes involved with the single stage supply chain include: the flow of raw materials or sub-assemblies, manufacturing, inventory control, distribution, the handling of funds and working capital, and equipment management.

3. Use of cross-functional teams: Teams of people from the interrelated functional operations working closely together can cut through the normal organizational barriers to find local and distributed improvements that benefit the overall supply chain performance.

The first main technologies for supply chain management are refereed to as "Legacy systems". Legacy systems can range from computer-aided design and engineering packages to the basic Microsoft Office or Lotus Notes suites at desktop workstations.

Current Supply Chain Management Technologies

The benefits to companies who have actively applied supply chain management to their operations have been clearly demonstrated over the years. Some of the rewards experienced by firms who have used supply chain management include:

A major manufacturer of vehicles in the U.S., Chrysler Corporation faced many problems in communicating standards and sharing critical software applications with its tens of thousands of suppliers of parts, packaging, and technology. The company also faced issues when it came to giving access to its mainframe systems servers for downloading information and applications.

5. Advanced use of Information: Data and information flow readily to all parts of the supply chain, allowing for faster corrections and more informed decisions.

How Does Supply Chain Management Make Companies More Effective?

ere the local PC browser processes the HTML pages and Java applets that are retrieved from servers. This allowed the direct selling and service to customers. Today you can easily go to an online store and browse a wide variety of merchandise, negotiate the price, and find out if it is even in stock before you order.

ASW Virtual Enterprise software, which is developed in Java, can be completely integrated with business software. The new software allows direct integration with all kinds of data sources, software, business portals and mobile devices such as WAP phones and Palm Pilots. This type of collaborative commerce is the next phase in global e-business operations. Such digital communication, directly between computers will become a natural element in business operation.

· Reduced planning, production, delivery, and tracking costs

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