Supply Chain
What Is a Supply Chain?
The owners of many small businesses may pride themselves on knowing many—if not all—of
their employees. Other small businesses may have some degree of familiarity with most of their
customers. They may have professional contacts with someone at the office of their immediate
suppliers. Beyond those contacts, the daily demands of operations may mean that they have
failed to see their firm’s position in the larger context known as the supply chain. What precisely
do we mean when we use the term supply chain management? Industrial organizations and
academics provide several different definitions of supply chain management.
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals provides the following definition:
“Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities
involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities.
Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be
suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain
management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.” [4]
The Association for Operations Management (APICS) defines a supply chain as “a total systems
approach to designing and managing the entire flow of information, materials, and services—
from raw material suppliers, through factories and warehouses, and finally to the customer
