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72-445: Material handling plays an important role in manufacturing and logistics. Almost every item of physical commerce has been transported on a conveyor or lift truck or another type of material handling equipment in manufacturing plants, warehouses, and retail stores. While material handling is usually required as part of every production worker's job, over 650,000 people in the U.S. work as dedicated "material moving machine operators" and have

144-429: A company assess their supply chain health and guide in supply chain planning. In most cases, it is ideal to have low WIP inventory levels, and companies that manage their inventory level efficiently tend to have lower costs. Managing WIP inventory requires coordination between several functions within a company, as well as with suppliers and customers. Higher WIP inventory levels are advantageous in that they can support

216-430: A competitive advantage. In the late 1990s, "supply chain management" (SCM) rose to prominence, and operations managers began to use it in their titles with increasing regularity. A supply chain, as opposed to supply chain management, is a set of firms who move materials "forward", or a set of organizations, directly linked by one or more upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, or information from

288-422: A competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronising supply with demand and measuring performance globally". This can include the movement and storage of raw materials , work-in-process inventory , finished goods, and end to end order fulfilment from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Interconnected, interrelated or interlinked networks, channels and node businesses combine in

360-706: A continuous information flow. However, in many companies, management has concluded that optimizing product flows cannot be accomplished without implementing a process approach. The key supply chain processes as stated by Lambert (2004) are: Much has been written about demand management . Best-in-class companies have similar characteristics, which include the following: One could suggest other critical supply business processes that combine these processes stated by Lambert, such as: Effective business process integration in supply chain management requires not only continuous communication, but also strategic coordination across departments and partner companies. The main reason for this

432-455: A few key strategic activities. This inter-organizational supply network can be acknowledged as a new form of organization. However, with the complicated interactions among the players, the network structure fits neither "market" nor "hierarchy" categories. It is not clear what kind of performance impacts different supply-network structures could have on firms, and little is known about the coordination conditions and trade-offs that may exist among

504-525: A finished good. On the balance sheet, WIP inventory is aggregated into the inventory line under current assets along with raw materials and finished goods. To calculate WIP inventory at the end of an accounting period, the following 3 figures are required: beginning WIP inventory, production costs, and finished goods. Beginning WIP inventory is the WIP inventory figure from the previous accounting period. Production costs includes all costs associated with manufacturing

576-410: A fundamentally new system. This leads to a panarchical interpretation of a supply chain, embedding it into a system of systems , allowing to analyze the interactions of the supply chain with systems that operate at other levels (e.g. society, political economy, planet Earth). For example, these three components of resilience can be discussed for the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction , when a ship blocked

648-530: A larger transfer batch to allow more efficient transport. Selecting a unit load size for distribution can be difficult because containers/pallets are usually available only in standard sizes and configurations; truck trailers, rail boxcars, and airplane cargo bays are limited in width, length, and height; and the number of feasible container/pallet sizes for a load may be limited due to the existing warehouse layout and storage rack configurations and customer package/carton size and retail store shelf restrictions. Also,

720-400: A median annual wage of $ 31,530 (May 2012). These operators use material handling equipment to transport various goods in a variety of industrial settings including moving construction materials around building sites or moving goods onto ships. Material handling is integral to the design of most production systems since the efficient flow of material between the activities of a production system

792-582: A product, such as raw materials, labor, and overhead costs. Finished goods is the total value of goods ready for sale in the current accounting period. The formula for calculating WIP inventory is as follows: beginning WIP inventory + production costs – finished goods. In the United Kingdom, HMRC has no specific definition of work-in-process, but three different types of uncompleted items are identified for tax purposes: Supply chain management In commerce , supply chain management ( SCM ) deals with

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864-772: A product. This set of partners may change according to a given market, region, or channel, resulting in a proliferation of trading partner environments, each with its own unique characteristics and demands. Specialization within the supply chain began in the 1980s with the inception of transportation brokerages, warehouse management (storage and inventory), and non-asset-based carriers, and has matured beyond transportation and logistics into aspects of supply planning, collaboration, execution, and performance management. Market forces sometimes demand rapid changes from suppliers, logistics providers, locations, or customers in their role as components of supply chain networks. This variability has significant effects on supply chain infrastructure, from

936-534: A second near Riverside, California . The centroid near Dayton is particularly important because it is closest to the population center of the US and Canada. Dayton is within 500 miles of 60% of the US population and manufacturing capacity, as well as 60% of Canada's population. The region includes the interchange between I-70 and I-75 , one of the busiest in the nation, with 154,000 vehicles passing through per day, of which 30–35% are trucks hauling goods. In addition,

1008-432: A single unit and maintain their integrity. Although granular, liquid, and gaseous materials can be transported in bulk, they can also be contained into unit loads using bags, drums, and cylinders. Advantages of unit loads are that more items can be handled at the same time (thereby reducing the number of trips required, and potentially reducing handling costs, loading and unloading times, and product damage) and that it enables

1080-447: A source to a customer. Supply chain management is the management of such a chain. Other commonly accepted definitions of supply chain management include: Mentzer et al. make a further distinction between "supply chain management" and a "supply chain orientation". The latter term involves a recognition that a business strategy cannot be fulfilled without managing the activities of suppliers and customers upstream and downstream, whereas

1152-463: A stage 2 supply chain, these are integrated under one plan, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) is enabled. A stage 3 supply chain is one that achieves vertical integration with upstream suppliers and downstream customers. An example of this kind of supply chain is Tesco . It is the third movement of supply chain management development, the globalization era, can be characterized by the attention given to global systems of supplier relationships and

1224-399: A structure can be defined as "a group of semi-independent organizations, each with their capabilities, which collaborate in ever-changing constellations to serve one or more markets in order to achieve some business goal specific to that collaboration". The importance of supply chain management proved crucial in the 2019-2020 fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that swept across

1296-676: A surge in demand, as well as improve cycle time since there is more material in production. However, this can also increase storage costs and obsolescence risk, as well as lead to waste if demand is lower than expected. To mitigate these risks, companies are increasingly turning to demand forecasting software. These tools analyze historical data, market trends, and customer behavior to predict future demand with greater accuracy. This allows companies to optimize WIP levels, ensuring they have enough material to meet anticipated demand without carrying excessive inventory that could become obsolete. WIP inventory refers to goods that are in production and not yet

1368-430: A system of procurement (purchasing raw materials/components), operations management , logistics and marketing channels , through which raw materials can be developed into finished products and delivered to their end customers . A more narrow definition of supply chain management is the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building

1440-432: A useful economic consideration. In mathematics and physics , a centroid is the arithmetic mean position of all the points in a plane figure . For supply chain management, a centroid is a location with a high proportion of a country's population and a high proportion of its manufacturing, generally within 500 mi (805 km). In the US, two major supply chain centroids have been defined, one near Dayton, Ohio , and

1512-468: A useful tool for improving a company’s productivity, product quality, and overall business competitiveness. But very often productivity gets an additional and solid shot in the arm when managers and workers take a fresh look at how best to use energy, equipment, and exertion to get the job done in the most efficient, effective, and effortless way possible. Planning that applies these principles can result in big wins for all concerned. Manual handling refers to

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1584-401: Is supply chain resilience , defined as "the capacity of a supply chain to persist, adapt, or transform in the face of change". For a long time, the interpretation of resilience in the sense of engineering resilience (= robustness ) prevailed in supply chain management, leading to the notion of persistence . A popular implementation of this idea is given by measuring the time-to-survive and

1656-745: Is also important for organizational learning. Firms with geographically more extensive supply chains connecting diverse trading cliques tend to become more innovative and productive. The security-management system for supply chains is described in ISO/IEC 28000 and ISO/IEC 28001 and related standards published jointly by the ISO and the IEC . Supply Chain Management draws heavily from the areas of operations management, logistics, procurement, and information technology, and strives for an integrated approach. An important element of SCM

1728-559: Is concerned with topics related to resilience , sustainability , and risk management , among others. Some suggest that the "people dimension" of SCM, ethical issues, internal integration, transparency/visibility, and human capital/talent management are topics that have, so far, been underrepresented on the research agenda. Supply chain management, techniques with the aim of coordinating all parts of SC, from supplying raw materials to delivering and/or resumption of products, tries to minimize total costs with respect to existing conflicts among

1800-409: Is due to both the labor costs of the operator and the negative impact on the performance of a production system (e.g., increased work in process ) when multiple units of material are combined into a single transfer batch in order to reduce the number of trips required for transport. A unit load is either a single unit of an item, or multiple units so arranged or restricted that they can be handled as

1872-440: Is heavily dependent on the arrangement (or layout ) of the activities. If two activities are adjacent to each other, then material might easily be handed from one activity to another. If activities are in sequence, a conveyor can move the material at low cost. If activities are separated, more expensive industrial trucks or overhead conveyors are required for transport. The high cost of using an industrial truck for material transport

1944-525: Is meant to increase creativity, information sharing, and collaboration among users. At its core, the common attribute of Web 2.0 is to help navigate the vast information available on the Web in order to find what is being bought. It is the notion of a usable pathway. SCM 2.0 replicates this notion in supply chain operations. It is the pathway to SCM results, a combination of processes, methodologies, tools, and delivery options to guide companies to their results quickly as

2016-450: Is not as flexible as a human operator, both with respect to not being able to do a particular task as well as a human and not being able to be as easily redeployed to do other tasks as needs change. Work in process Work in process or work-in-process , ( WIP ), work in progress ( WIP ), goods in process , or in-process inventory refers to a company's partially finished goods waiting for completion and eventual sale, or

2088-426: Is only semi-automated because a human operator is needed for tasks like loading/unloading and driving that are difficult and/or too costly to fully automate. However, ongoing advances in sensing, machine intelligence, and robotics have made it possible to fully automate an increasing number of handling tasks. A rough guide to determine how much can be spent for automated equipment that would replace one material handler

2160-542: Is that it can effectively improve agility. At the same time, this integration can help businesses respond quickly to changes in demand and improve customer satisfaction. Integration of suppliers into the new product development process was shown to have a major impact on product target cost, quality, delivery, and market share. Tapping into suppliers as a source of innovation requires an extensive process characterized by development of technology sharing, but also involves managing intellectual property issues. There are gaps in

2232-755: Is to consider that, with benefits, the median moving machine operator costs a company $ 45,432 per year. Assuming a real interest rate of 1.7% and a service life of 5 years with no adoption/adaptation cost, no learning cost, no training cost, and no operating cost for equipment with no salvage value, a company should be willing to pay up to $ 45 432 ( 1 − 1.017 − 5 0.017 ) = $ 45 432 ( 4.75 ) = $ 219 019 {\displaystyle \$ 45\,432\left({\frac {1-1.017^{-5}}{0.017}}\right)=\$ 45\,432(4.75)=\$ 219\,019} to purchase automated equipment to replace one worker. In many cases, automated equipment

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2304-523: The Financial Times . In 1983 WirtschaftsWoche in Germany published for the first time the results of an implemented and so called "Supply Chain Management project", led by Wolfgang Partsch . In the mid-1990s, the term "supply chain management" gained popularity when a flurry of articles and books came out on the subject. Supply chains were originally defined as encompassing all activities associated with

2376-461: The time-to-recover of the supply chain, allowing to identify weak points in the system. The APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program emphasizes the importance of managing risks and enhancing resilience. According to APICS, in order to manage global interruptions and preserve operational continuity, a robust supply chain is vital. More recently, the interpretations of resilience in

2448-496: The velocity of inventory movement. Organizations increasingly find that they must rely on effective supply chains, or networks, to compete in the global market and networked economy. In Peter Drucker 's (1998) new management paradigms, this concept of business relationships extends beyond traditional enterprise boundaries and seeks to organize entire business processes throughout a value chain of multiple companies. According to Drucker, "the greatest change in corporate culture—and

2520-571: The 1960s and developed through the 1990s by the introduction of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. This era has continued to develop into the 21st century with the expansion of Internet-based collaborative systems. This era of supply chain evolution is characterized by both increasing value-added and reducing costs through integration. A supply chain can be classified as a stage 1, 2, or 3 network. In stage 1–type supply chain, systems such as production, storage, distribution, and material control are not linked and are independent of each other. In

2592-465: The 21st century, changes in the business environment have contributed to the development of supply chain networks. First, as an outcome of globalization and the proliferation of multinational companies, joint ventures, strategic alliances , and business partnerships, significant success factors were identified, complementing the earlier " just-in-time ", lean manufacturing , and agile manufacturing practices. Second, technological changes, particularly

2664-460: The activities better or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in satisfying customer demand, while reducing managerial control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners lead to the creation of the concept of supply chain management. Supply chain management is concerned with improving trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and

2736-443: The assumptions of globalization, outsourcing and linear supply chains and to envision alternatives; in this example this could lead to local and circular supply chains that do not need global transportation routes any longer. Six major movements can be observed in the evolution of supply chain management studies: creation, integration, globalization , specialization phases one and two, and SCM 2.0. The term "supply chain management"

2808-448: The bill, either directly or through workers’ compensation insurance, at the same time they must cope with the loss of the full capacity of their workers. Scientific evidence shows that effective ergonomic interventions can lower the physical demands of MMH work tasks, thereby lowering the incidence and severity of the musculoskeletal injuries they can cause. Their potential for reducing injury related costs alone make ergonomic interventions

2880-467: The canal for several days. Persistence means to "bounce back"; in our example it is about removing the ship as quickly as possible to allow "normal" operations. Adaptation means to accept that the system has reached a "new normal" state and to act accordingly; here, this can be implemented by redirecting ships around the African cape or use alternative modes of transport. Finally, transformation means to question

2952-399: The chain partners. An example of these conflicts is the interrelation between the sale department desiring to have higher inventory levels to fulfill demands and the warehouse for which lower inventories are desired to reduce holding costs . In 1982, Keith Oliver , a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton , introduced the term "supply chain management" to the public domain in an interview for

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3024-423: The complexity and speed of the supply chain increase due to global competition; rapid price fluctuations; changing oil prices; short product life cycles; expanded specialization; near-, far-, and off-shoring; and talent scarcity. Increasing volatility has characterized supply chains since about 2000. Douglass in 2010 referred to an SCM management style known as "extreme supply chain management", which: recognizes

3096-440: The dramatic fall in communication costs (a significant component of transaction costs), have led to changes in coordination among the members of the supply chain network. Many researchers have recognized supply network structures as a new organizational form, using terms such as " Keiretsu ", "Extended Enterprise", "virtual supply chain", " Global Production Network ", and "Next Generation Manufacturing System". In general, such

3168-460: The evolution of processes, methods, and tools to manage them in a new era of globalization and specialization. One element of this is the growing popularity of supply chain collaboration platforms that connect multiple buyers and suppliers with financial institutions, enabling them to conduct automated supply chain finance transactions. Web 2.0 is a trend in the use of the World Wide Web that

3240-450: The exact conditions of the lift (height, distance lifted, weight, position of weight relative to body, asymmetrical lifts, and objects that are difficult to grasp), six multipliers are used to reduce the maximum recommended weight for less than ideal lifting tasks. Whenever technically and economically feasible, equipment can be used to reduce and sometimes replace the need to manually handle material. Most existing material handling equipment

3312-450: The expansion of supply chains beyond national boundaries and into other continents. Although the use of global sources in organizations' supply chains can be traced back several decades (e.g., in the oil industry), it was not until the late 1980s that a considerable number of organizations started to integrate global sources into their core business. This era is characterized by the globalization of supply chain management in organizations with

3384-419: The firm or the supplier-buyer relationship. Among the few exceptions is the relational view , which outlines a theory for considering dyads and networks of firms as a key unit of analysis for explaining superior individual firm performance (Dyer and Singh, 1998). The management of supply chains involve a number of specific challenges regarding the organization of relationships among the different partners along

3456-412: The flow and transformation of goods from raw materials through to the end user or final consumer , as well as the associated information flows. Mentzer et al. consider it worthy of note that the final consumer was included within these early definitions. Supply chain management was then further defined as the integration of supply chain activities through improved supply chain relationships to achieve

3528-669: The former term is used for "the actual implementation of this orientation". Supply chain visibility, in its origins, was concerned with knowledge of the location/production stage and expected delivery date of incoming products and materials, so that production could be planned, but the development of the term has enabled it to be used to plan orders using knowledge of potential supplies, and to track post-production processes as far as delivery to customers. Supply chain management software includes tools or modules used to execute supply chain transactions, manage supplier relationships, and control associated business processes. The overall goal of

3600-527: The foundation layers of establishing and managing electronic communication between trading partners to more complex requirements such as the configuration of processes and workflows that are essential to the management of the network itself. Supply chain specialization enables companies to improve their overall competencies in the same way that outsourced manufacturing and distribution has done; it allows them to focus on their core competencies and assemble networks of specific, best-in-class partners to contribute to

3672-419: The goal of increasing their competitive advantage, adding value, and reducing costs through global sourcing. In the 1990s, companies began to focus on "core competencies" and specialization. They abandoned vertical integration, sold off non-core operations, and outsourced those functions to other companies. This changed management requirements, as the supply chain extended beyond the company walls and management

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3744-424: The late 1990s and has taken root primarily in transportation and collaboration categories. This has progressed from the application service provider (ASP) model from roughly 1998 through 2003 to the on-demand model from approximately 2003 through 2006, to the software as a service (SaaS) model currently in focus today. The term SCM 2.0 has been coined to describe both changes within supply chains themselves as well as

3816-441: The literature on supply chain management studies at present. A few authors, such as Halldorsson et al., Ketchen and Hult (2006), and Lavassani et al. (2009), have tried to provide theoretical foundations for different areas related to supply chain by employing organizational theories, which may include the following: However, the unit of analysis of most of these theories is not the supply chain but rather another system, such as

3888-493: The load; the equipment and method used to handle the load; and the methods of forming (or building) and breaking down the load. For in-process handling, unit loads should not be larger than the production batch size of parts in process. Large production batches (used to increase the utilization of bottleneck activities) can be split into smaller transfer batches for handling purposes, where each transfer batch contains one or more unit loads, and small unit loads can be combined into

3960-1002: The need for collective, rather than sequential, risk management and facilitates collaboration on a new scale that is necessary for survival. It challenges companies to be "perpetually vigilant". Successful SCM requires a change from managing individual functions to integrating activities into key supply chain processes. In an example scenario, a purchasing department places orders as its requirements become known. The marketing department, responding to customer demand, communicates with several distributors and retailers as it attempts to determine ways to satisfy this demand. Information shared between supply chain partners can only be fully leveraged through business process integration , e.g., using electronic data interchange . Supply chain business process integration involves collaborative work between buyers and suppliers, joint product development, common systems, and shared information. According to Lambert and Cooper (2000), operating an integrated supply chain requires

4032-402: The overall value chain itself, thereby increasing overall performance and efficiency. The ability to quickly obtain and deploy this domain-specific supply chain expertise without developing and maintaining an entirely unique and complex competency in house is a leading reason why supply chain specialization is gaining popularity. Outsourced technology hosting for supply chain solutions debuted in

4104-421: The players. From a systems perspective, a complex network structure can be decomposed into individual component firms. Traditionally, companies in a supply network concentrate on the inputs and outputs of the processes, with little concern for the internal management working of other individual players. Therefore, the choice of an internal management control structure is known to impact local firm performance. In

4176-626: The practical size of a unit load may be limited by the equipment and aisle space available and the need for safe material handling. Manual material handling work contributes to a large percentage of the over half a million cases of musculoskeletal disorders reported annually in the United States . Musculoskeletal disorders often involve strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders, and upper limbs. They can result in protracted pain, disability, medical treatment, and financial stress for those afflicted with them, and employers often find themselves paying

4248-682: The provision of products and services required by end customers in a supply chain . 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. Supply chain management strives for an integrated, multidisciplinary, multimethod approach. Current research in supply chain management

4320-434: The sense of ecological resilience and social–ecological resilience have led to the notions of adaptation and transformation , respectively. A supply chain is thus interpreted as a social-ecological system that – similar to an ecosystem (e.g. forest) – is able to constantly adapt to external environmental conditions and – through the presence of social actors and their ability to foresight – also to transform itself into

4392-402: The software is to improve supply chain performance by monitoring a company's supply chain network from end-to-end (suppliers, transporters, returns, warehouses, retailers, manufacturers, and customers). In some cases, a supply chain includes the collection of goods after consumer use for recycling or the reverse logistics processes for returning faulty or unwanted products back to producers up

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4464-415: The task and using positioning equipment like lift/tilt/turn tables, hoists, balancers, and manipulators to reduce reaching and bending. The NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) 1991 Revised Lifting Equation can be used to evaluate manual lifting tasks. Under ideal circumstances, the maximum recommended weight for manual lifting to avoid back injuries is 51 lb (23.13 kg). Using

4536-407: The term became widely adopted after the publication of the seminal book Introduction to Supply Chain Management in 1999 by Robert B. Handfield and Ernest L. Nichols, Jr., which published over 25,000 copies and was translated into Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Russian. This era of supply chain management studies was highlighted with the development of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems in

4608-548: The use of a worker’s hands to move individual containers by lifting, lowering, filling, emptying, or carrying them. It can expose workers to physical dangers that can lead to injuries: a large percentage of the over half a million cases of musculoskeletal disorders reported in the U.S. each year arise from manual handling, and often involve strains and sprains to a person's lower back, shoulders and upper limbs. Ergonomic improvements can be used to modify manual handling tasks to reduce injury. These improvements can include reconfiguring

4680-425: The use of standardized material handling equipment. Disadvantages of unit loads include the negative impact of batching on production system performance, and the cost of returning empty containers/pallets to their point of origin. Unit loads can be used both for in-process handling and for distribution (receiving, storing, and shipping). Unit load design involves determining the type, size, weight, and configuration of

4752-550: The value chain. Supply chain management is a cross-functional approach that includes managing the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and become more flexible, they reduce ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other firms that can perform

4824-451: The value chain. Formal and informal governance mechanisms are central elements in the management of supply chain. Particular combinations of governance mechanisms may impact the relational dynamics within the supply chain. The need for interdisciplinarity in SCM research has been pointed out by academics in the field. In the study of supply chain management, the concept of centroids has become

4896-420: The value of these items. The term is used in supply chain management , and WIP is a key input for calculating inventory on a company's balance sheet. In lean thinking , inappropriate processing or excessive processing of goods or work in process, "doing more than is necessary", is seen as one of the seven wastes (Japanese term: muda ) which do not add value to a product. WIP inventory calculations can help

4968-581: The way business is being conducted—may be the accelerated growth of relationships based not on ownership, but on partnership." This approach allows companies to leverage the strengths and capabilities of various partners to achieve greater efficiency and innovation, ultimately enhancing overall business performance. In recent decades, globalization, outsourcing, and information technology have enabled many organizations, such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard , to successfully operate collaborative supply networks in which each specialized business partner focuses on only

5040-564: The world. During the pandemic period, governments in countries which had in place effective domestic supply chain management had enough medical supplies to support their needs and enough to donate their surplus to front-line health workers in other jurisdictions. The devastating COVID-19 crisis in US has turned many sectors of the local economy upside down, including the country's storied logistics industry. Some organizations were able to quickly develop foreign supply chains in order to import much needed medical supplies. Supply chain management

5112-803: Was distributed across specialized supply chain partnerships. This transition also refocused the fundamental perspectives of each organization. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) became brand owners that required visibility deep into their supply base. They had to control the entire supply chain from above, instead of from within. Contract manufacturers had to manage bills of material with different part-numbering schemes from multiple OEMs and support customer requests for work-in-process visibility and vendor-managed inventory (VMI). The specialization model creates manufacturing and distribution networks composed of several individual supply chains specific to producers, suppliers, and customers that work together to design, manufacture, distribute, market, sell, and service

5184-446: Was first coined by Keith Oliver in 1982. However, the concept of a supply chain in management was of great importance long before, in the early 20th century, especially with the creation of the assembly line . The characteristics of this era of supply chain management include the need for large-scale changes, re-engineering, downsizing driven by cost reduction programs, and widespread attention to Japanese management practices. However,

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