Essay of Scm

1. Define supply chain integration process and need for creating an effective supply chain organization structure. Explain with an illustration. Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the provision of product and service packages required by the end customers in a supply chain. Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption. Supply chain management is a cross-function approach including in managing the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end-consumer. Successful SCM requires a change from managing individual functions to integrating activities into key supply chain processes. An example scenario: the purchasing department places orders as requirements become known. The marketing department, responding to customer demand, communicates with several distributors and retailers as it attempts to determine ways to satisfy this demand. Information shared between supply chain partners can only be fully leveraged through process integration.Supply chain business process integration involves collaborative work between buyers and suppliers, joint product development, common systems and shared information. The key supply chain integration processes are: * Customer relationship management * Customer service management * Demand management style * Order fulfillment * Manufacturing flow management * Supplier relationship management * Product development and commercialization * Returns management The organizational structure of a supply chain management according to an organizational flowchart includes the components