Assessment of the importance of power dynamics in global supply chains
One of the most important fields of research in global business has been supply chain management. Most experts perceive the necessity to establish this concept as a discipline, similar to other disciplines such as marketing. This is due to the fact that it tackles the broad challenges experienced in supply chain management, making it an intriguing topic of discussion for many people (Seuring, S., 2013). Therefore, this discussion is aimed at reviewing the various analytical works that have been developed in the sector based on the shared interest with other similar topics. Such topics include supply pipeline management, value stream management, and network sourcing, which have actually.
Supply chain management definition and optimization
Supply chain management is therefore defined as a network or system of facilities whose responsibility is to produce raw materials, change them into intermediate commodities, then to final products. It also has a responsibility of delivering the final products to customers through a system of distribution. Supply chain management, therefore, has an aim of optimizing the performance of the system through spanning procurement, distribution, and manufacturing. This aim is based on the idea that the supply chain management links the supply agents to form a joint participation in a cooperative manner within the firm with an aim of maximizing productivity in the chain and yield the maximum benefit to the parties involved (Johnsons, 2014). This, therefore, gives the supply chain management a critical analysis by many scholars and it makes it a very interesting part of the researchers conducted. This discussion is hence aimed at evaluating the various researches that have been done on supply chain management to make it a discipline.
Evaluation of Global Supply Chain and the companies.
SCM involves management of money, human resource, materials, and information across and within the chain to ensure maximum customers utility or satisfaction and to find the means to beat the competitors. In the mid-twentieth century, most companies and producers of manufactured goods placed much emphasis on mass production in an attempt to ensure economy of scale, as a chief operation strategy with the very minimal product or flexibility of the process.
Development of Supply Chain Management
However, in the last quarter of the century, there was a development of material requirement planning (MRP) which made managers realize the effect of big WIP inventories on the cost of manufacturing, quality of the products, development of the products and the lead-time of delivery. Furthermore, the increased world competition pushed the international organizations to offer their products at a low cost, an improved and high quality, and an increased level of reliability of the products which also possessed great flexibility. There were introduction and embracement of new strategies of production and programs, one of such is the Just-In-Time (JIT) which was aimed to improve both the efficiency and cycle time of the production (Mangan, Lalwani, and Lalwani J, 2016). Further changes and competition in the global perspectives made the many managers of companies embrace the concept of Supply Chain Management so as to ensure they are not left behind, and to improve their effectiveness and efficiency across the chain. The evaluation of the supply chain, therefore, was designed as follows.
Stages and eras of supply chain management development
The first stage was the era of creation. In this case, the term of the supply chain was created by an American consultant of industries around the 1980s. It is however noted that the concept of the supply chain in management had existed even much earlier before the period. It is believed to have started in the twentieth century, particularly the creation of the line of assembly. The next stage which followed was the era of integration. In this period, the there was a great study of supply chain management, especially with the development and creation of Electric Data Interchange which occurred in around 1960s. This concept was made possible by the idea of incorporation of Enterprise Resource Planning system. These two factors made the integration era of global chain management be realized in the global business.
The third era of Global Chain Management was the globalization of the error. This period was characterized by the spread of chain management throughout the business world, all the businesses were exposed to the chain management with an aim of increasing their competitive advantages, an establishment of value addition and to reduce their cost by means of global sourcing. This era was closely followed by the era of specialization (Heizer. and Barry. 2013). This was the first phase of specialization which focused on the outsourcing of manufacturing and distribution. It occurred in the period of around 1990s, where companies focused on the competence and also adopted a model of specialization/ in this era, companies literally did away with vertical integration and sold off most of their non-core operation, which they outsourced to the companies which specialized in them.
The era was then followed by phase two of specialization which viewed chain management as a service. In this case, there was a replacement of the previous specializations which was based on transport brokerage, non-asset based carriage or warehouse management, to an advanced level of specialization. This specialization developed to duties like collaboration, supply planning performance management and execution. Finally, the last error and the most current one was the Web 2.0. This era is defined by the development of trend of the use of World-Wide-Web that was aimed to intense information sharing, creativity, and collaboration, to mention a few. Therefore, these market the stages and eras of the supply chain management development in the global perspective in the conduct of business.
Supply chain between workers and employers
Human resource plays a critical role in the global supply chain management, especially the relationship between the employers and the employees. There exist a very strong interdependence between human resource and the supply chain to an extent that it becomes difficult to establish the boundaries between the two. This is due to the fact that the boundaries are constantly drawing to accommodate the integrations between the two.
One of the difficulties a logistic professional is an issue of managing the human resource policies which seem to be beyond their scope of management (Monczka et al., 2015). In this case, a great leverage in achieving the cross functional integration in the case of those who are endowed with that responsibility. Therefore, if there was to be an effective logistic professionalism, there is need to be an integrative vision between the human resource and the supply chain management. The integrations should cover cross-functional and craft integrative that will enable the effective flow of products and responsibilities in the company. And all the other channels.
There is a great economic advantage that results from the integrations of the human resource and the supply chain management. This is due to the fact that human resource ability is enhanced by HR policies that ensure that all the established programs are effectively implemented in the company. This matter, therefore, possess a classic logistic dilemma and hence most companies are not achieving the objective due to the problem. Moreover, the ability of a company to integrate the human resource policies and the supply chain gives the advantage to increase and to improve both the level and the quality of productivity. This is based on the ability to control the relationship between employers and the workers.
Supply Chain companies and the state
The state being the regulator and formulator of policies that affect the companies in a particular country, it has a great role to play in the supply chain management. One of such factors is the sale tax and the supply chain (Wisner, Tan, and Leong. 2014.). This is brought about by the fact that once a company produces in line with the global supply chain, there is a factor of tax that the government introduces that may affect supply chain factors like outsourcing. Therefore, the fundamental responsibility of the state in the supply chains is to critically evaluate the policies they establish to regulate the conduct of companies in their jurisdiction. This will ensure that there is harmony.
Tax requirement on companies, especially that affects the concept of export and import, are among the fundamental issues that the state has total control over. This, therefore, calls for the participation of the state to regulate and make the supply chain objectives achievable in the various states and the world as a global business hub.
Recommendation
The idea of supply chain and its relation to various market factors has proven to be very critical in business. This is because it creates a way of conducting business in harmony and ensures increased productivity. Therefore, it is important for various stakeholders to play their role as required (Heizer and Barry. 2013). This will help ensure global competitiveness and the quality of the products that reach the consumer are the best. The governments of various states, therefore, become the center of focus since they always have the control power for business. It is therefore required of them to create a conducive atmosphere for companies and traders.
Conclusion
The global supply chain management is one of the growing disciplines that has changed the conduct of business in the world. This is because of the integrative nature that it has brought in the production processes of companies. It is, therefore, important for each and every company in the global business to ensure that it complies with the set policies that ensure the development of the supply chain concept. This will ensure that there is a smooth conduct of business and production in all aspects productions. It is also important for the governments to create policies that create conducive environments for both local and international companies to operate, this will increase the level of profit and the production of quality products in the global market.
References
Brandenburg, M., Govindan, K., Sarkis, J. and Seuring, S., 2014. Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions. European Journal of Operational Research, 233(2), pp.299-312.
Christopher, M., 2016. Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Heizer, R. and Barry, R., 2013. Operation Management, Sustainability and Supply Chain management (Vol. 11). Pearson, UK.
Johnson, P.F., 2014. Purchasing and supply management. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Mangan, J., Lalwani, C. and Lalwani, C.L., 2016. Global logistics and supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.
Monczka, R.M., Handfield, R.B., Giunipero, L.C. and Patterson, J.L., 2015. Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning.
Seuring, S., 2013. A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management. Decision support systems, 54(4), pp.1513-1520.
Wisner, J.D., Tan, K.C. and Leong, G.K., 2014. Principles of supply chain management: A balanced approach. Cengage Learning.
