Determine whether integration efforts should start with suppliers, distribution, or both. Explain the rationale for your decision.
What are the basic components of a supply chain? Most companies are utilizing a five supply chain components, in order to bring products to the marketplace. The five supply chain components are Suppliers, Manufacturers, Distributors, Retailers, and Consumers/Customers. Effective integration and management of supply chain components and processes is helping to cost reduction and improve customer service. Supply Chain integration also gives a new set of capabilities which helps to the company to increase revenue and achieve a competitive advantage.
In a supply chain management, sometimes the necessity to integrate actions is a solution to the supply chain processes, rather than simply managing individual functions. A successful integration effort requires group effort between buyers and suppliers, as well as teaming up on the development of new products, sharing information, and developing extraordinary systems. Information must flow continually in order to operate a successful integrated supply chain. When it works effectively, this helps everyone attain the best product flows. In collaboration with suppliers, strategic plans should be developed in order to aid the development of new products as well as the manufacturing flow management process.
Distribution takes in to account the flow of a final product from the factory to the customers. The customer is the marketing channel’s final product. In the department of physical distribution, the availability of that product is a essential aspect of the marketing efforts. Customer service is also a key component of the process of distribution, as it is a necessary part of marketing. Therefore, distribution links marketing to the customers for a given product; these customers might include re
References: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/04/20/wal-mart-wants-to-eliminate-all-packaging-waste-by-2025/ Retrieved July 29, 2012 http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/supply-chain/supply-chain-business-integration.html Retrieved July 29, 2012 http://www.manufacturing.net/articles/2009/03/eliminating-waste-in-supply-chain-processes Retrieved July 29, 2012 http://www.zebra.com Retrieved July 29, 2012