SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT(SCM)

Supply chain management (SCM) is the broad range of activities required to plan, control and
execute a product's flow from materials to production to distribution in the most economical
way possible.

SCM encompasses the integrated planning and execution of processes required to optimize
the flow of materials, information and capital in functions that broadly include demand
planning, sourcing, production, inventory management and logistics -- or storage and
transportation. Companies use both business strategy and specialized software in these
endeavours to create a competitive advantage.

Supply chain management is an expansive and complex undertaking that relies on each
partner -- from suppliers to manufacturers and beyond -- to run well. Because of this,
effective supply chain management also requires change management, collaboration and risk
management to create alignment and communication between all the participants.

In addition, supply chain sustainability -- which covers environmental, social and legal

issues, in addition to sustainable procurement -- and the closely related concept of corporate
social responsibility -- which evaluates a company's effect on the environment and social
well-being -- are areas of major concern for today's companies.

BENEFITS OF SCM

Supply chain management produces benefits such as new efficiencies, higher profits, lower
costs and increased collaboration. SCM enables companies to better manage demand, carry
the right amount of inventory, deal with disruptions, keep costs to a minimum and meet
customer demand in the most effective way possible. These SCM benefits are achieved
through choosing effective strategies and appropriate software to manage the growing
complexity of today's supply chains.
Q1. China is a rapidly evolving economy. Why do
you think most international business are looking to
China as both an opportunity and a threat?

CHINA AS AN OPPORTUNITY
 ■ Maximum no. of retail stores
As china had maximum number of retail stores so
they enjoyed the healthy networking already in the
market.
■ Market leader for trends
China were market leader for trends as they were
already there in the market for a long time.
■ Updated technology like ERP and SCM
They made use of updated technologies such as
ERP and SCM which made the procedure easier
and was carried in a smoother way and all the
records were much safer than earlier.
CHINA AS A THREAT
■ Innovation
With long staying in the market they always had an
edge over the competitors by coming up with
innovative ideas which really help them to stay at
the top.
■ Better communication between the organization
and the suppliers
As overcoming their problem of communication
between the organization and suppliers and making
 it a strength became one of the serious threats to
the competitors.

■ Achieving target before time

They were always able to achieve targets before
time thus saving time for other various works and
enhancing the efficiency of the organization.