Supply Chain Case

1. Define the term supply chain

The supply chain is a longer channel from the source of raw material to finished products carried to the final buyer. There may be various vendors who are providing goods or services that make this supply chain. The supply chain for Wal-Mart is every product they source from any vendor. For produce like lettuce the supply chain is started right from farmer, and for cheese supplier, it starts right from the dairy farm. When a company acquires competitors or expands upstream or downstream, its aim is to capture a higher percentage of supply chain value. Auto makers work very closely with their supply chain and make them as cost efficient with an information system that works seamlessly. If a particular model of car, or a particular color of car is not selling, it is better if ancillary units know it as fas as possible and do adjustments accordingly.

Supply chain is concept that is extended even to finance. Financial Supply Chain Management talks about how efficiently money moves from one to another end. The corporations have multiple banks, multiple countries and multiple units that own the bank accounts. This is a big challenge to make sure that least time is lost and in process least interest income is lost in this financial supply chain management.

ERP software like SAP has modules like Collection management, Dispute Management, Biller direct, House Bank and Cash Management. All these modules help corporations to gain efficiencies in financial supply chain management.