Reference no: EM132239641

Supply chain management is one of the biggest challenges for many companies facing. According to the instructor of this course the supply chain is a complex network made up of people, processes, and technologies that is engineered and managed to deliver value to a customer.

One of the simplest ways to think about a supply chain is to visualize it as three flows, money, material, and information. Money flows from your customer upstream one link at a time all the way to the raw materials suppliers. Materials flow downstream, starting from raw materials and end up as a finished product. Information flows upstream and downstream, so if you're managing the supply chain, your job is to keep those three flows moving smoothly and quickly to minimize disruptions and turbulence.

Supply chain management focus on:

Planning products that consumers will want to buy

Sourcing raw materials, components or parts

Transporting and warehousing products

Delivering the goods to the point of purchase

When it comes to procurement, many companies focus on measuring materials' costs, they simply look at the price that they pay for the materials that they buy, but reducing material costs can also lead to a reduction in quality, reliability, and responsiveness. That can end up costing you more money in the long run. So it's important to use strategic sourcing, an approach that looks beyond just material costs and maximizes the value of procurement for your supply chain.