Supply Chain Management For Dummies

Chapter 2

Understanding Supply Chains from Different Perspectives

IN THIS CHAPTER

Looking at the three flows in every supply chain

Aligning key supply chain functions and groups

Designing and monitoring supply chain performance

There are several different ways to analyze what’s happening in a supply chain. Each of these different perspectives can help you understand how your supply chain really works and reveals opportunities for improvement. Because there are so many different ways to look at the same issue, supply chain managers can encounter confusion and miscommunication about which options are the best. In this chapter, you get to see several of these approaches and examples that illustrate how all of them can actually be very useful when it comes to managing your own supply chain.

Managing Supply Chain Flows

One great way to explain a supply a chain is to think of it as three rivers that flow from a customer all the way back to the source of raw materials. These rivers, or flows, are materials, money, and information, as shown in Figure 2-1. Materials flow downstream in the supply chain, starting with raw materials and flowing through value-added steps until a product finally ends ...