Planning 101 for supply chain managers

This articles talk about supply chain 101 and is useful for anyone wanting to understand what is involved in running your own supply chain.

Companies produce or buy finished goods. These are sold to customers, either consumers or businesses. A supply chain is the ability to forecast sales for your customers, planning to ensure you have appropriate stock(either manufactured or sourced) to cater to your customer's requirements. Subsequently, executing operations to ensure the product reaches the customer on time as promised in the location as desired. This would include ensuring your business has the relevant setup in terms of warehousing to hold the right stock at the right place. Lastly, completing the delivery to customer from the warehouse(Logistics).

An ancient saying amongst supply chain experts is a really good supply chain ensures the right product is available at the right time in the right quantity and in the right place for the customer to have a seamless experience.

The processes in a Supply Chain are usually divided into a series of cycles, each performed in the interface between two interrelated successive stages of a Supply Chain. This article provides more in-depth knowledge of how supply chain works and how it interacts with other functions. Find out more here.