Managing the Supply Chain Function

Abstract

The supply chain manager is concerned with not only managing the flow of materials and resources, he or she is also concerned with managing the human resources through which control of materials is achieved. In this chapter I will investigate the problems associated with staffing the positions or roles that have been defined in the structure. I shall consider aspects of recruitment and training and the preparation of job descriptions and operating manuals. People are probably the most important asset in any supply chain. In addition to these elements of the staffing problem, I shall also focus attention on a closely related managerial requirement. This concerns techniques of directing and motivating the staff to achieve departmental and corporate objectives and to provide opportunities for members of the logistics function to satisfy their own individual goals at the same time. This topic is a controversial one and in the social environment of today, traditional views have come under severe attack. I shall consider these opposing views in the context of supply chain management.