Sustainable Supply Chain Practices in Multinational Organizations

What Is Supply Chain Management?

Prior to the 1980s the term supply chain management did not exist. Instead, organizations used the phrase “operations management” and “logistics” to define the entire network of supply chain. During the old days, logistics referred to functions such as procurement of raw materials, the maintenance of the products, distribution of products as well as management of inventory whereas modern supply chain management can be defined as a combination of the traditional logistics and introduction of new functions such as marketing of final products, research and development of new products, order management, finance and managing good relations with all suppliers and customers alike.

Supply chain management can be briefly described as the coordination and integration of multiple individual functions, processes and departments that must be linked together to ensure the supply chain gives the firm a competitive advantage while assuring the right product with the right price has been provided to the customer for their satisfaction.

The individual functions of a supply chain that ensure products have been transformed into final goods and services are mentioned below:

• 1.

  Demand Planning and Forecasting

• 2.

  Procurement Operations

• 3.

  Inventory Management

• 4.

  Warehousing Operations

• 5.

  Transportation Operations

• 6.

  Customer Service Operations

Evolution And History Of Supply Chain Management

Supply chain and its management have existed from the day individuals began trading goods and services. Supply chain management and logistics have evolved together with technology making it easier for organizations to improve their competitiveness. The history and evolution of supply chain management will be presented in the form of a timeline: