How Supply Chain Management Relates to Quality - Coursework Example

Supply chain Management of the of the Introduction In this paper, the major concepts of the supply chain management will be discussed. Similarly, how the different principles of supply chain management in the organization are applied will also be analyzed. Moreover, how supply chain management relates to quality and operations will also be elaborated. Supply chain management Supply chain management deals with all the processes involved directly or indirectly in fulfilling a customer request. In plain words, Supply chain management deals with the management of the flow of goods and services. Supply chain starts with from the suppliers and ends with the customer. Supply chain management is primarily a new field as compared to other functional areas in the organization. It includes a broad range of functions such as storage and warehousing, inventory management and transportation and logistics (Christopher, 2012). A supply chain manager manages the entire chain of finished goods from the point of origin to the pint of consumption. Supply chain involves various activities and all the related activities in the supply chain result in the customer satisfaction (Jacobs, Chase & Chase, 2010). The overall result of the supply chain is to get the customer satisfaction. The supply chain will be considered as successful if the overall value generated for the customer increases. (Careersinsupplychain.org, 2015) Application of Supply Chain management The concepts of the supply chain are implemented in many of the organizations. There are many organizations small and large which apply the concepts of the supply chain management. Every organization has a procurement department. Similarly, there is also a warehouse in most of the organizations. Besides, the logistics and transportation is also required by most of the organizations. All these functions are related to the supply chain management and are performed in most of the organizations. The role of the procurement department is to purchase the products for the company from the suppliers or independent vendors. The procurement department compares the prices of the various products offered by the different suppliers and selects those products which are not only lower in pricing but also provide better quality (Carter & Liane Easton, 2011). The decisions of the procurement department will have much effect on the overall success of the company. If the quality of the raw material purchased by the procurement department is not up to the mark then the finished product will be of lower quality and the customer satisfaction will go down. On the contrary, the procurement department purchases the quality products and that too at affordable prices than not only the customers will be delighted but there will also be increased profitability for the organization. Thus, the procurement department is an important department for any organization and the decisions it takes will have far reaching impacts on the success of the organization. There is also storage and warehousing department in every organization which stores the raw materials for the organization. Storage and warehousing are also important techniques of the supply chain management. In the warehouses usually the raw material is stored. However, the finished goods can also be stored in the warehouse. The role of the store manager is to receive the consignments, store them properly and provide the finished product to the production department. Warehouse is considered to be very important for the organization because it serves as a link between the procurement and the production departments. In a warehouse, the raw material is stored and it is the responsibility of the raw materials manager to provide the right quantity of the raw material at the right time and in right shape (Hugos, 2011). The inventory management is also an important concept related to supply chain management which is incorporated in the organizations. The management of the inventory is considered to be essential in order to meet the demands of the customers. Similarly, inventory in excess will increase the costs of the company. Therefore, an adequate amount of the inventory is to be maintained by the organization. Just in time (JIT) is the new concept related to supply chain management. Under this concept, the company receives the inventory only when it requires it (Hugos, 2011). The company does not store the inventory rather it maintains the inventory level in such a way that inventory is provided to the company only when it needs it. Furthermore, effective utilization of the warehouse is also very important. The space of the warehouse should be used in an effective way so that the costs of the inventory should be reduced. Furthermore, the transportation is also an important aspect of the Supply chain which is applied in the organization. Most of the companies use various techniques of logistics and transportation in order to meet the needs of the customers. Most of the companies have their own transportation but the concept of third party logistics is also in vogue in the industry. Under this concept, the company outsources its entire transportation and logistics. There are several of modes of transportation which are used by the organizations which include rail, road and air. The goods and transports are also transported through sea. The rates of all these modes of transportation vary significantly (Carter & Liane Easton, 2011). If the nature of the goods are perishable than the fastest modes of transportation such as air is used. The cheapest modes of transportation are transportation through rail and the large quantity of consignments can be sent through rail. The road transportation is also the commonly used method of transportation by the organizations. However, the sea transportation and air transportation are only used by those companies which have international presence or which do transactions from one country to another country. Supply chain also involves having better relationships with the suppliers. The suppliers provide raw material and other components without which the finished goods cannot be completed. Most of the companies engage with their suppliers on a constant basis. They provide them all the technical assistance as well as monetary support. Furthermore, all the important information such as introduction of new products or expansion of existing products are also discussed with the suppliers in order to ensure the timely availability of supplies and in right quantity as well (Christopher, 2012). Most of the companies have more than two suppliers so they try to maintain better relationships with all of them as well. The major aim of all the supply chains is to increase the overall value generated for the customers. Therefore, all the processes of the supply chain aim to create value for the customers by providing them quality products at affordable prices and through excellent service delivery. Thus, all the principles of the supply chain management are applied in the organization in order to create value for the customers (Christopher, 2012). Whether it is procurement, storage and warehousing or transportation the major aim of the organization is the satisfaction of the customers. All these functions are performed in such a way that the satisfaction of the customers is increased. (Cybage.com, 2015) Relationship between Supply chain management and Quality and Operations There is a direct relationship between quality and operations and supply chain management. The major aim of the supply chain management is to increase the quality of the products and services so that value is created is for the customers. All the functions in the supply chain are performed in such a way that quality of the products and services are improved. For instance, if the procurement department does not purchase the quality material then the finished product will also be of lower quality (Wisner et al., 2015). Therefore, quality is directly related to the supply chain management. Similarly, if the raw material is not stored properly in the warehouse then too its quality will get affected. Furthermore, the overall aim of the supply chain management is to increase the value for the customers by providing them quality products and superiors services. Therefore, there is a direct link between the quality and operations and the supply chain management. Without an effective supply chain management the quality of the products and services cannot be improved and which will further lead to the dissatisfaction of the customers. Moreover, in most of the organizations supply chain management and quality and operations go hand in hand (Wisner et al., 2015). (Chang,2009) Recommendations Supply chain management principles should be implemented in letter and spirit if the organizations intend to get the desired results. Similarly, the organizations should focus on all the activities involved in the supply chain if they intend to increase the satisfaction of the customers. Furthermore, the relationship with the suppliers should be improved and all the information related to the products should be discussed with them so that the demand of the product should be fulfilled in an effective way. Moreover, there should be no compromise on the quality of the products or services by the organizations. Conclusion Supply chain management has produced phenomenal results for the organizations. With the help of supply chain management strategies the companies have significantly increased their customer base. Procurement, warehousing and transportation are all the important functions of a supply chain management. Furthermore, the major goal of the supply chain management is to increase the satisfaction of the customers which is done by carefully monitoring the entire supply chain. References Top of Form Careersinsupplychain.org,. (2015). Seven Principles of SCM - Careers in Supply Chain Management. Retrieved 16 April 2015, from http://www.careersinsupplychain.org/what-is-scm/principles.asp Carter, C. R., & Liane Easton, P. (2011). Sustainable supply chain management: evolution and future directions. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 41(1), 46-62. Chang, G. (March 18, 2009). Total Quality Management in Supply Chain. International Business Research, 2, 2.) Christopher, M. (2012). Logistics and supply chain management. Pearson UK. Cybage.com,. (2015). Supply Chain Collaboration | Risk Management | Relationship Management. Retrieved 16 April 2015, from http://www.cybage.com/coe/scm Hugos, M. H. (2011). Essentials of supply chain management (Vol. 62). John Wiley & Sons. Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B., & Chase, R. (2010). Operations and supply chain management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Wisner, J., Tan, K. C., & Leong, G. (2015). Principles of supply chain management: a balanced approach. Cengage Learning. Bottom of Form Read More