In today’s global market a firm must consider all the options that it has at its deposal to make that firm successful. One of those tools that a firm my use when evaluating its ability to succeed is its supply chain management system and how it is set up. A firm must consider reviewing its supply chain management system from a holistic viewpoint. A firm must observe the supply chain management system and all of its components. The firm must review how its supply chain management system provides value to the firm’s stakeholders and customers. The firm can accomplish this through information gathering, integrating key business practices/processes, from the suppliers to end users of the product or services. During this paper …show more content…
Does this opportunity qualify for a short or long term relationship with this company? Is it economically feasible to team with this entity in the supply chain management process or is it more cost effective just to handle it internally? Will this teaming relationship open another market that the firm is not currently in? All of these things must be considered when contemplating outsourcing any part of a supply chain system. The last thing that a firm should consider is can the firm afford to loose that control over that part of the firm’s supply chain …show more content…
Information technology has automated how the inventory is monitored and counted. There is software that can do almost every activity in the process of the supply chain management system to include building a supply chain network. The new information technology allows for the tracking of shipments of the firm’s products in real time every step of the way from manufacture to the customer. Information technology has software that can share real time data to each person on the activities in the process and all persons in the network can view it at the simultaneously (Min & Zhou, 2002), In acknowledging the biggest risk to all supply chain management systems is the risk of a disruption. This risk must be dealt with as far in advance as possible by trying to be proactive in evaluating for ways of how a disruption could happen to the firm’s supply chain management system. A firm should review its own supply chain and see were there could be a disruption and try to plan to minimize the effects of a disruption, by implementing a contingency plan in place. If the disruption is in the transportation method used for delivery of the firms goods and products the firm should have an alternative system in place that can activated to move the goods to the customer or retailer. Basically the firm should have an alternative transportation method in place along side