Chapter 1

The Growing Demand for Supply Chain Management

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Understanding complex business challenges

check Focusing on supply chain tasks

check Understanding supply chain management principles

check Getting started with the new supply chain agenda

These days, it’s hard to find a copy of The Wall Street Journal that doesn’t have the phrase supply chain somewhere on the first page. You hear about supply chains everywhere: in company reports, on the news, and even in casual conversation. But it hasn’t always been that way. Only in the past 30 years has supply chain management gone from being a vague academic concept to a critical business capability. This chapter covers why supply chain management has become so important and explains the process for building best-in-class supply chain management into your company.

Defining Supply Chain Management

In spite of the current hype, supply chains aren’t really that new. Entrepreneurs have been buying things from suppliers and selling products to customers for almost as long as people have inhabited the earth. However, supply chain management is new. ...

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