Supply Chain Management

            The aim of this research paper is to provide deep insights regarding the supply chain management activities and how supply chain management help the organization to improve its performance. The supply chain management is a broad term which includes various business activities such as transportation distribution, logistics and inventory management. Supply chain management have major impact on the performance of the organization. This research paper will evaluate how supply chain management effect the overall profitability & productivity of the organization and what can be done to  improve the supply chain management. The research paper is divided into four main sections the first section is the introductory section which discusses the significance of supply chain in the organizations. In the second section detail literature review have been performed to understand how supply chain effect the performance of the corporations. The third section discuss how supply chain improve the performance. The forth and least section discuss how corporation can improve the supply chain management to improve the overall profitability, efficiency & productivity of the organizations. In short the paper will provide a brief overview regarding the supply chain significance & its effect on the organizational performance.

Significance of Supply Chain Management within Organization

            As discussed earlier the supply chain management is broad term which include various business activities such as supply of goods, inventory management, transportation/logistics and consumer satisfaction etc. If the organization able to manage all the activities efficiently than not only the performance of the corporation enhances but also the organization can compete with its competitors more effectively. Today the competition in the international market has increased up to lot of extent and in order to gain competitive edge over the competitors the organization will have to reduce its expenses and will have to enhance the speed of the process so that customers can get their product on time.

Through effective inventory management the corporation can not only reduce its cost but also the efficiency of the organization will increase up to lot of extent. There many inventory management software that are available in the market that can be used for improving the management of the inventory. The corporation can also take help of latest technology to track their logistic activity which will help the organization to improve the speed of production. In simple words the organization operations will become smoother if the corporation has managed its supply chain appropriately. The customer satisfaction play key role in enhancing the revenue of the organization and if the customer are not going to get their favorite product o time than not only the reputation of the company will decline but also the revue will decline as well. That is why Supply chain play a significant role in the organization.

Supply Chain Management Effect on Organizational Performance

        In this research paper the effect of supply chain on the organizational performance will be evaluated. Over the years studies have shown that the effective supply chain management improves the performance of the organization. In order to investigate this fact various research studies have been reviewed which discuss the effect of supply chain on the performance of the organizations. It is evident that through focusing on inventory management, transportation and supplier network the corporation can smooth its operations which will ultimately help the organization to enhance its revenues.

Literature Review of Supply Chain Management

        In the research study the deep insights regarding the supply chain management have been provided. The researchers have stated that the supply chain management practices have significant impact on the performance of the organization along with competitive advantage. The research focuses on 5 key dimensions of supply chain which include quality of information, Customer relationship, supplier partnership and information sharing. For this research study the data is gathered from 196 corporations. The results of the study shows that the SCM practices have significant impact on the organizational performance and competitive advantage. The SCM helps the organization to improve organizational performance. It means that if the organizations focused on SCM practices they can gain competitive advantage over their competitors (Chavez, et al., 2014).

        In the study conducted by Kenneth W. Green, Pamela J. Zelbst and Jeramy Meacham the green supply chain management practices are discussed in detail. According to the researchers the green supply chain management practices have immense impact on the performance of the corporation. In order to conduct this research the data is gathered from 159 production managers. In this paper the green supply chain practices are analyzed which incorporates environment protection. The findings of the study shows that the green SCM practices have huge impact on the performance of the organization and the performance of the organization experience improvement due to green SCM practices. The SCM improves the economic performance of the organization which improves the operational performance. The operational performance than ultimately improves the overall organizational performance. In short through effective SCM practices organization can achieve their desire goal (Green, et al., 2012).

        In another research study the researchers have focused on the relationship between the organizational performance and SCM practices. The researches have analyzed the SCM practices and organizational performance to know whether the SCM and organizational performance have any association or not. For conducting the study the data is gathered in abundance so that detailed analysis can be performed. The findings of the study shows positive association between the SCM and organizational performance. It means that if the organizations want to improve their performance they will have to focus on the supply chain management practices. The SCM practices allow corporation to gain efficiency & productivity (Gunasekaran, et al., 2016).

        The study conducted by Alan T.L Chan, Eric W.T. Ngai & Karen K.L. Moon have provide brief overview regarding the effects of SCM practices on the firm performance. In the research study the researchers have focused on the fashion industry.  The researchers have stated that in the fashion industry the supply chain management activities can play key role in improving the performance of the organizations. In order to conduct the study the data is gathered from 141 garment producers. The findings of the study shows that the SCM practices can play key role in improving the performance of the corporations (Chan, et al., 2016).

          The study conducted by Antony Paulraj, InjazzJ. Chen and Constantin Blome have discussed the importance of SCM practices in the organization. The researchers in this study focuses on the ethical considerations and included moral motives regarding the SCM practices. For the research study the data is gathered from 259 SCM corporations who were present in the country of Germany. The findings of the study shows that the high level of moral obligations allows the corporations to focus on SCM practices. The moral obligations influence the corporations to improve their practices so that customer gets the best quality products (Paulraj, et al., 2017).

Benefits of Supply Chain Management

High Efficiency of Supply Chain Management

        The major benefit which the organizations get from effective supply chain management is the high efficiency of the corporation. When the inventory is managed appropriately than the production process gets stabilize and organization produce products according to the demand. It means that no excess products will be produced and through this efficiency of the company increases. The process of production speeds up when the organization utilize latest software & technology for improving the logistics. The higher efficiency of the organization means that the revenue of the organization will enhance which ultimately enhances the profit as a result.

Decline in Cost of Supply Chain Management

        Managing the costs of the organization is a crucial task because if the cost are not managed appropriately the organization will unable to increase its overall profit. Through effective inventory management the organization can reduce its costs. The overall production and supplier cost can also be decline by using latest techniques of supply chain. In simple words the modern supply chain techniques can help the organization to manage its cost more efficiently which will ultimately allow corporation to sustain in the long run and expand its current operations in various parts of the world (Lambert, 2008).

Higher productivity of Supply Chain Management

        The main aim of every corporation is to generate significant amount of profit and it will only be done when the organization is providing the products to the customers according to the demand. Sometimes the demand of the product suddenly increase in the market and the corporations often experience difficulty in meeting the sudden increase in demand. The effective supply chain management can help the organization to meet the increase in demand efficiently because through latest technology the production process can be changed according to the demand. It means that through effective supply chain corporation can enhance its productivity without any difficulty.

Reduction in process Delay of Supply Chain Management

        Another major benefit of effective supply chain management is reduction in process delay. In many organizations there are several processes which have to be done in order to reach the finished outcome. If different processes are not managed accordingly than the product might experience delay in reaching to the end consumer. The supply chain management helps the organization to streamline different processes so that product can be manufactured on time and can be distributed to the nearest retail outlet without any difficulty.  Achieving this task with traditional approaches was difficult and sometimes customers have to wait for their product. But today with latest techniques achieving this task has become quite easy with the help of latest software (Lambert, 2008).

High Customer Satisfaction of Supply Chain Management

        It is evident that when the customers are going to get their product on time than the customer satisfaction will increase. The customers today are looking for high quality with affordable price. The high quality goods will only be produced if the supply chain of the organization is effective. If the supply chain activities are not up to the set standards than the quality of goods can be decreased which will ultimately effect the customer satisfaction. Therefore through supply chain management the organizations can improve the quality of the goods by purchasing material from trusted suppliers. Furthermore through effective cost management the organization will have the opportunity to sell the products on competitive prices

Consequences of Ineffective Supply Chain

Poor Quality of Supply Chain Management

        The first major consequence which the organization face from ineffective supply chain management is the poor quality of their products. The poor quality of the products occurs when the corporation has not created strong relationship with the suppliers or purchase goods from such suppliers which does not provide quality material. Due to this the quality of goods suffers a lot. The low quality goods then decrease the sales of the business because customer dies not get satisfied with the quality of the products. Ultimately the profit of the corporation declines which have major impact on the overall performance of the business. Therefore it can be said that the supply chain ineffectiveness reduce the performance & efficiency of the businesses.

High Inventory Cost of Supply Chain Management

        As discussed earlier the inventory management play key role in reducing the cost and improving the efficiency of the production process. If the supply chain management of any corporation is in effective than it means that the inventory management cost will increase which will increase the overall cost of the organization. Through this it will become difficult for the corporation to increase profit. If the costs of the corporations are not managed than the organization cannot achieve its desired goals such as expanding the business or making investment in various projects. Therefore if the supply chain is not effective than costs of the corporation will increase that will have negative impact on the profitability (Coyle, et al., 2008).

Delay in production of Supply Chain Management

        The delay in the production occurs due to several issues such as in effective inventory management, ineffective supplier management and procuring material from suppliers in delay. The effective supply chain management insures that the organization should purchase the material on time so that the product can produced and delivered to the customer without any delay. However this is not the case when the supply chain activities are not managed by the corporations’ accurately. The delay in production will have negative consequences on the profitability and goodwill of the organization. Today the customers does not want to wait for their product for a long time.

Decline in Overall profitability of Supply Chain Management

        It is obvious that when the corporation supply chain is not effective then the chances of poor quality production are higher. The poor quality products will not be accepted by the customers which means that revenue of the organization will decline. On the other hand the cost of the corporation will increase die to ineffective management of inventory & logistics which will further decline the profit of the business. The customer loyalty has huge significance for the success of the business and if the customer loyalty is going to experience decline than achieving the goal of increasing revenue will become quite difficult (Coyle, et al., 2008).

Low Customer Satisfaction of Supply Chain Management

        It is highly important that the organization meets the needs and preferences of the customers. This can only be done by providing them best quality products on affordable prices. The organization can only provide affordable prices when their costs are managed appropriately but this becomes quitter difficult when the corporation supply chain management is weak.

Analysis & Discussion of Supply Chain Management

        Through analyzing various studies it can be said that the supply chain management have huge impact on the performance of the corporation. Through effective supply chain management the organization not only can improve its efficiency but also have the opportunity to increase the satisfaction of its customers. The organization can improve its operations which will ultimately help the organization to achieve its desired goals. Through effective supply chain management the corporation will have the record of various activities through which the internal control of the corporation will become stronger. Through effective supply chain the organization will able to make strong relationship with its suppliers & customers

        For cost management the supply chain management is highly important. The organization can achieve balance between the services and costs. The organization will get the opportunity to meet the needs and preferences of the customers more efficiently. The demands of the customers can be processed in less amount of time and they will able to get the products on low prices. Furthermore due to globalization various organizations are expanding into different parts of the world. The effective supply chain management help the business to not only manage the cost in the international market but also help the company to develop strong relationship with the customers (Coyle, et al., 2008).

        As from literature review it has been known that the supply chain management have huge effect on the performance of the organization but the thing that still needs to be discussed is how to improve the supply chain management in the organization. There are many ways through which the supply chain management activities can be improved. First thing that should be done is to create a plan regarding the supply chain management. In the plan the goals and objectives of the supply chain management should be identified. The organization then take help of the IT experts in implementing the latest software.

        It is highly important for the organizations to focus on their efficiency & performance because if the performance of the organization is not up to the mark than the organization cannot generate enough profit. With low profitability the corporation will unable to run its operations effectively and ultimately sustaining in the long run will become very difficult for the organization. The effective SCM practices can help the organization to improve the performance.

        It is recommended to the organizations to implement effective supply chain management practices so that the issues like, delays, high costs and customer dissatisfaction can be resolved. Through new technologies there are endless possibilities for the organizations to grow and compete with other organizations. Through robust SCM strategies organization can distinguish itself from the rest of the organizations and can provide variety of product/services to its customers. The only thing that needs to be realized here is to implement those strategies which allow corporation to improve the supply chain management practices.

Conclusion on Supply Chain Management

        If all the above discussion is summarized than it is evident that through effective supply chain management the organization not only can improve its efficiency but also have the opportunity to increase the satisfaction of its customers. The organization can improve its operations which will ultimately help the organization to achieve its desired goals. Through effective supply chain management the corporation will have the record of various activities through which the internal control of the corporation will become stronger. Through effective supply chain the organization will able to make strong relationship with its suppliers & customers.

       It is evident that when the customers are going to get their product on time than the customer satisfaction will increase. The customers today are looking for high quality with affordable price. The high quality goods will only be produced if the supply chain of the organization is effective. If the supply chain activities are not up to the set standards than the quality of goods can be decreased which will ultimately effect the customer satisfaction. There are many ways through which the supply chain management activities can be improved. First thing that should be done is to create a plan regarding the supply chain management. In the plan the goals and objectives of the supply chain management should be identified. The organization then take help of the IT experts in implementing the latest software. It is recommended to the organizations to implement effective supply chain management practices so that the issues like, delays, high costs and customer dissatisfaction can be resolved. Through new technologies there are endless possibilities for the organizations to grow and compete with other organizations

References of Supply Chain Management

Chan, A. T., Ngai, E. W. & Moon, K. K., 2016. The Effects of Strategic and Manufacturing Flexibilities and Supply Chain Agility on Firm. European Journal of Operational Research, pp. 1-35.

Chavez, R., Yu, W., Feng, M. & Wiengarten, F., 2014. The Effect of Customer-Centric Green Supply Chain Management on Operational Performance and Customer Satisfaction. 25(3), p. 205–220.

Coyle, J. J. et al., 2008. Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective. s.l.:Cengage Learning.

Green, K. W., Zelbst, P. J. & Bhadauria, J. M. a. V. S., 2012. Green supply chain management practices: impact on performance. Volume 17, pp. 290 - 305.

Gunasekaran, A. et al., 2016. Big Data and Predictive Analytics for Supply Chain and Organizational Performance. Journal of Business Research, Volume 70, pp. 308-317.

Lambert, D. M., 2008. Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance. s.l.:Supply Chain Management Inst.

Paulraj, A., Chen, I. J. & Blome, C., 2017. Motives and Performance Outcomes of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices: A Multi-theoretical Perspective. 145(2), p. 239–258.