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Supply chain management in a nutshell
Many parameters are taken into account to improve the supply chain and reduce costs:
- Reduce the number of suppliers, so if you can a close relationship, a partnership;

- Reduce the number of contractors to achieve the same goal;

- For finished products, establish distribution channels and shared management of inventory, so customers and suppliers share costs, profits and risks;

- Anticipating the shortage by good historical and forecast demand – and adjusting their stocks accordingly.

In the dynamic environment and with competitors offering similar products, agility and cost factors may be determinants of success or failure. Thus, the closer to a partnership are the relationships with suppliers and customers, the greater the chances of having everyone involved in the process and committed to providing the best product to market.

Proof of the importance of the area is to realize that the big companies already have department, board or management of logistics and / or supply chain, which is gaining increasing importance over the years.

Here are some ideas for improving the process of supply chain management in your company:

Improve collaboration and communication among buyers with suppliers, informing them of his intentions to modify or improve any process of manufacture;
Keep inventory levels as low as acceptable (if it is safe!), A process using just-in-time production by requests whenever possible (see Inventory Control: logistics and demand forecasting and reduce inventory to improve costs ). The inventory cost is one of the main indicators used to analyze the performance of a logistics organization;
If outsourcing is cheaper (consider everything: production, transportation and even loss of know-how), why continue making the high costs internally?
Invest in communication technologies, especially with suppliers to reduce the time of order / delivery and ensure that the raw material is always available. As the cost of inventory, time customer service is another key indicator because it encourages the company to have a closer relationship with its customers and thus ensure a faster service;
Use existing information technology (many low cost): start with sales forecast , go to inventory control, shopping, ordering, shipping, delivery and so on – there are tools to help computational and automatic in each step of the process ;
Make purchase decisions more (and higher inventories) and discount-based spreadsheets and calculations, not on pressure and intuition.
So, keep in mind that the process of supply chain management is not done in isolation: it is a relationship between his company and others with whom you relate. Every change you make to the process of managing their supply chain should be a shared and positive experience for all who compose it – a true win-win – for the long-term relationship is beneficial to you, your suppliers and your customers.

The manager must ensure an efficient distribution and inventory costs low, the balance between the two can boost productivity and efficiency

The implementation of the concept of SCM is very complex and time consuming, and would never be feasible without the support of IT. The SCM can be implemented using a generic ERP package, integrating the various processes and activities inside and outside the company, yet the supply chain planning and optimization, the ERP is far short of expectations. To mitigate this deficiency in the existing ERP systems, then the applications came APS ouAdvanced Schedulling & Planning System, the generic name for a generation of optimization software throughout the supply chain, from planning involving demand, production and distribution, enabling connect the logistics decisions and manage them in an integrated manner.

Growing companies in the realization that the future challenges of SCM will be related to increasing pressure to deliver better products at lower costs, faster and custom markets. The main features of the market that companies are facing in the new globalized environment are:

• Competition between supply chains;
• Increasing pressures for better products;
• Cost reduction;
• Greater speed;
• Production driven by demand ;
• Continuous and smooth flow of production;
• Global markets;
• Customized services;
• Commitment instant with different patterns;
• Profits more aggressive;

Supply Chain Model
Every model of supply chain management must include ways to improve efficiency – the gaining of income – of the following activities:

• forecasting and planning of the balance between supply and demand (see How to improve demand forecasting );
• Location of suppliers of raw materials;
• Product manufacturing;
• Product storage;
• Delivery of the product;
• Return the product by the customer, if necessary;
• Feedback through customer service and process improvement where necessary.

Remember that if you get information about the processes and numbers, it is easier to manage them. However, it is good to make sure that the numbers reflect reality, so that management decisions are taken in light of actual knowledge of the process. Moreover, with a background in hand, is less complex to identify weak points, such as dependence on a single supplier or a market.

The management of the supply chain is a process of strategically manage different flows (goods, services, finance, information) as well as relationships between companies in order to achieve and / or supporting the organizational goals

The supply chain management is a set of methods that are used to provide better integration and better management of all network parameters: transportation, inventory, costs, etc.. These parameters are present in the suppliers in their own company and ultimately the clients. The proper management of the network allows an optimized production to offer the end customer the right product in right quantity. The goal is to obviously reduce costs along the chain, taking into account the requirements of the client – after all, this is quality: deliver what the customer wants, the price and conditions that they expect.

This management is sometimes difficult, especially for a system that has no control over the entire chain. For example, a company that outsources a portion of the production or logistics , no longer has control over an important part of the process. It is difficult also because the demand of the customer is mostly unknown and varies substantially from one month to another, which implies a more complex production planning. The products to be manufactured may also change (new season, fashion, models, improvements), which put in evidence the need for a pricing strategy and accounting of supplies and inventory.

The supply chain management