Supply Chain

A Supply Chain is a necessary system in most businesses that deal with production and getting a product to the public.  Goods have to be manufactured or developed, transported, shipped or delivered, and purchased by the people who are in need of whatever it is. That takes skills, technology and management.

Here is an example of a how one works, and the various management level jobs that requires one to run smoothly.  Let's say you wish to sell organic chew toys for puppies.  First, you need someone in purchasing to find the organic raw hide at the best price, and perhaps the roast beef gravy to dip it in. You will also need the shrink wrap to house it, the logo and labels created and printed, etc. That would fall into the lap of the manager in charge of Supply Chain Procurement of goods.

The machines to make it are needed, and also must be maintained in order to operate well.. You have to have a way to store the product until it is ready to be shipped, and also a shipping system to get it to the stores or the customer through mail order, Internet or catalog sales.  You should have sales staff and advertising teams. Don't forget the accounting staff, receptionists and customer service reps. Some of this is of course can be outsourced work.  All of it needs a Supply Chain Director to oversee each step and make sure things run smoothly, on time and in budget.

Each phase will require a Supply Chain Manager to make sure that the  phase of the production under their supervision meets company standards, is done well and on time, and that the employees doing the labor are well trained and efficient. So far so good.

Then someone need to be in charge of the Supply Chain Inventory system, from the raw hide product, to the shrink wrap and the labels, to the boxes to ship it in, the receipts, and whatever else is needed on a daily basis. All must be kept in good supply without waste of overage.
Where and how it is stored, at what room temperature, on what type of shelving in what boxes must be considered and monitored. How it is shipped to the stores or online customers is another necessary step that must be managed.

Supply Chain Operations takes a vast amount of organization and coordination of skills, labor and materials. No matter how automated, there still have to be personnel to oversee each step. Most likely there will be different companies involved in the process that need to inter-communicate and coordinate their efforts. This makes the management of each link necessary in a growing industry. The more our world shrinks through the Internet, the distance between various businesses will continue to be less and less. The more businesses rub together, the more trained management is needed to make sure they do not irritate each other.

Where can you fit in? It depends on your training, your skills and your education.  All of us are at one time or another the final link in the supply chain - the purchaser of the product.