Supply Chain Performance and Evaluation Models

1

Supply Chain Management Modeling

1.1. Supply chain management

Historically, the management of flows was mainly concerned with internal company processes, aiming to optimize material, information and financial flows. The concept of logistics defined this early stage in the development of the management of flows [COL 96]. With logistics management, the purchasing, production and distribution were not considered separately; they were managed as part of an overall view of flows within the company.

In 1986, the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), which is now the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), defined logistics management as “The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished good, and related information flow from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements” [COO 97].

The consideration of distribution points and production plants within the management of flows led to the evolution of the concept of logistics from a company-centered approach toward a more global logistics approach [COL 96].

This marked a turning point in supply chain management: from this time onward, all the partners in the chain were taken into account. They were no longer seen as being independent of each other, but rather as needing to learn to coordinate and synchronize their activities.

Study of the supply chain management has come ...