By : Cale Ryan Swanson
Introduction •
Supply chain management is directly related to a company’s customer service. And if a company has great customer service, it can get a leg up on the competition. To be successful, a small business must take advantage of every opportunity it can to stand out from the competition.
Why the Supply Chain is Important For Business Success • Supply Chain Strategy • Supply Chain Network Design • Supply Chain Service Performance • Supply Chain Cost • Supplier Performance • Inventory Management
Supply Chain Strategy •
If your company hasn’t really paid attention to supply chain strategy, now is the time to start, even if it means enlisting some external help to do so. A Properly designed supply chain strategy is an enabler for achieving commercial goals and consequently, corporate success. What does “properly designed” mean? It means that your supply chain strategy should be designed in such a way as to support the overall strategy of your business. In far too many organizations, this is unfortunately not the case.
Supply Chain Network Design •
Along with the design of supply chain strategy, the design of the supply chain itself, especially the part which deals with outbound distribution from plants or warehouses, is instrumental in the success or failure of businesses.
Supply Chain Service Performance •
Profitable revenue growth is a sure sign of business success, and one of the most important factors driving profitable growth is customer service and most importantly, customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is highly dependent on the supply chain and to be successful, your business must manage its supply chain with that in mind. That means the customer must be a primary focus when considering supply chain strategy, network design and performance management.
Supply Chain Cost •
The cost of meeting demand is one of the most telling ways in which the supply chain matters to business success. Supply chain outlay can make up a large proportion of product costs, while excessive inventory in the system can tie up working capital and stifle cash flow. Investigating the costs of serving customers is one way to understand the way supply chain costs affect business success. The use of a methodology known as “cost to serve analysis” often reveals shocking realities about supply chain costs.
Supplier Performance • The supply chain, as its name suggests, is only as strong as its weakest link. Unfortunately some of the links are unlikely to be under the direct control of your business organization. To some extent, your suppliers hold your business success (or lack of success), in their hands.
Inventory Management •
There can be few businesses which don’t rely upon inventory. Even if yours is a service, rather than product-oriented enterprise, the chances are you have some need to move items through a supply chain. It might be spare parts, consumable items, or perhaps equipment, but if it’s something you need to store and transport, then it requires treating as inventory and managing accordingly. Of course, if your company is providing products, the need to manage inventory efficiently is paramount. Just as customers are something on which your business depends, so is inventory.
• Cale Ryan Swanson is a successful businessman who provides the important benefits of supply chain management through which you can improve the customer services and increase the productivity.