Green Supply Chain Management - Case Study Example

The paper “Green Supply Chain Management” is an excellent example of a case study on management. To gain a competitive edge, companies today are striving to meet the needs and expectations of the customers. Success in doing this is founded upon developing business processes and activities that can strategize, manufacture, and deliver creative, innovative, low-cost, and quality products and services. For this reason, supply chain management is very essential to organizations. Supply chain management is a recent business concept that can be defined as the process of networking and integration of organizations that are involved in bringing a commodity or service to the customers (Christopher, 2011). Supply chain management creates a competitive advantage to a service or manufacturing organization hence completely differentiating itself from its competitors with regard to the perspectives of its customers. Therefore, it gives organizations a particular emphasis on low-cost operations which brings about high-profit levels (Esper, Fugate and Davis, 2007).

Two companies that have established successful supply chain management is Wal-Mart and Amazon. No two organizations dominate the global retail industry than Wal-Mart and Amazon. The supply chain management of the two companies has brought about admiration from other companies (Lichtentein, 2009). This report will describe the supply chain practices of both Wal-Mart and Amazon. It will first highlight the histories of the companies, their supply chain philosophies, sustainable supply chain strategies, and supply chain structures. Second, it will detail out the challenges and risks the two companies face in the international market and the solutions employed to overcome them. It will also explain the technologies employed by both companies to create an effective supply chain.

Background Information
Amazon History
Amazon is an e-commerce and computing company located in the United States and is considered the leading internet-based retailer in the country (Stone, 2013). It started merely as an online bookstore but has grown to sell DVDs; video downloads MP3, electronics, toys, food, and furniture (Stone, 2013).