E-Logistics and International Supply Chain Management - Essay Example

E-Logistics and International Supply Chain Management Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 4 The relationship management process 4 The customer service management process 5 The demand management process 6 Manufacturing Flow Management process 6 E-Procurement 7 E-Commerce 8 E-fulfilment 9 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction In order to achieve effective integration and coordination with a network of organisations including the suppliers, distributors, vendors, customers, it is critical for a company to emphasize on its supply chain management systems (SCM). Supply chain management enables the organizations to manage the different upstream as well as the downstream relations with an objective to create more value for the customers as well as the business itself while lowering the operating costs of the business. The SCM philosophy is guided by the fact that the simultaneous optimization of the different elements involved in the whole logistics and supply chain processes would result in the enhancement of the whole supply chain performance as compared to the individual performances. The main factor that can drive this coordination is the timely flow of information from one phase of the supply chain to the other. Therefore, information and the sharing of information can be identified as critical factors to enhance the performance and effectiveness of the business. The latest technological evolutions including the innovations in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have enough potential to meet these requirements and facilitate the integration and coordination processes which ultimately results in the creation of effective vertical and horizontal integration of the entire logistic and supply chain processes. A Framework for e-SCM Discussion The customer relationship management process The customer relationship management processes maintain the structure to build and develop relations with the customers. The process includes the identification of the main customers, segmentation of the target market and designing products and services according to their needs. The internet has major influence on the customer relationship management part of the supply chain. There are two different impacts of the internet on this process: one being the internal impact and the other being the downstream impact. The internal impacts are evident on the focal company. The use of internet enables the different business units and departments to have access to all the information regarding the customers. This helps the business units to have proper idea about the needs of these customers and the combined work of the business units may lead to the creation of a successful supply chain model. The downstream effects are displayed on with respect to the relation of the business with its customers. The websites allow the company to pool data about the users and can generate huge databases which are critical for the CRM software. The analysis of these databases helps the company to understand the customer behaviour and predict future demands which is a very critical part of the decision-making process in a supply chain management process. This majorly helps in forecasting the demands and maintains suitable inventory levels. The customer service management process The service management activities of a company aptly use the internet and other information and communication technologies. This is because it is the only source of information for the customers of the business. The use of internet is done to provide real time data to the customers, especially related to the interfaces with the functions of the operations and logistics departments. The internet has major impacts ion these processes in both the downstream activities and the internal parts of the supply chain (Prasad and Babbar, 2000, pp.209-247). The internal part is supported by the internet because of its usability to share real time data among the various departments and business units of the organization. The internet is used for the recognition of events and understanding the opinion of the customers and is also used to communicate effectively with the customers regarding their needs and the responses of the company. This can be done through the help section dedicated to the customer service, online chat systems with the company representatives, feedback forms and grievance redress systems maintain in the websites of the organization. These factors help in improving the response timings of a business to the anticipated changing demands and trends of the market. The demand management process The demand management process is a critical decision making factor for the supply chain and logistics activities, especially for the stocking of goods or inventory maintaining purposes. A proper demand management system enables the company to maintain the optimal balance between the supply capabilities of the business and the existing and potential demands in the market. The forecasting of demand levels and the streamlining of these levels with the distribution, procurement and production is critical for the supply chain to be robust and responsive (Nagurney and Cruz, 2005, pp.120-142). The internet is used widely in all these aspects. The sharing of information regarding the actual sales equips the firm to make more accurate forecasts. These forecasts can help to improve the efficiency of the different supply chain processes by helping the firm to maintain proper stock levels and make suggestive production planning for the supply chain and the inventories. The internet enables the different elements of the supply chain system to access and monitor real time data and also enables the company to use data analysis techniques to make better forecasting and effective planning for the future production and distribution (Bowersox, Closs and Cooper, 2009, p.449). Manufacturing Flow Management process The manufacturing management process is aimed at dealing with the product development and the establishment of the felicity in the manufacturing processes (Stock and Lambert, 2000, p.144). This can be highly facilitated by the use of the internet. The two major activates involved in the manufacturing management process are product flow management and implementation and management of flexibility to the demands in the market. The internet can create opportunities for the different demand and supply information visible to the different functional units of the manufacturing supply chain (Mangan, Lalwani and Butcher, 2008, p.214). This will lead to an improvement in the efficiency of the manufacturing facilities. Also, the improved understanding of the potential demands in the market would help the company to anticipate the future changes in the demand and supply levels, thus making the company better prepared to combat with economically adverse situations. E-Procurement The procurement activities are critical to a firm because it associates the firm with the suppliers and vendors. Therefore, it is a fundamental process in supply chain. The e-procurement strategy has been launched in recent times to support the sourcing and procurement activities of a business through the use of the modern technologies like the internet and other information technologies (Harrison and Remko, 2008, p.114). E-procurement forms an important process which helps to negotiate with the buyers, suppliers and the vendors. The e-procurement can be segregated into two types: Market place e–procurement and business-to-business e –procurement. The marketplace e-procurement aims to bring the different buyers and sellers to transact in a virtual marketplace. On the other hand, B@B procurement is done between two businesses in a virtual market place. The procurement process deals with large volumes of information sharing between the businesses and the suppliers. Therefore the use of internet is critical in driving the success of the e-procurement process. E-procurement implementation has major benefits like lowering the costs of the business and increasing the profitability of the business. Knowledge sharing and information sharing are the key processes guiding e-procurement through the use of the internet. E-Procurement process E-Commerce E-commerce logistics, more popularly known as e-logistics majorly uses the concepts of internet with an objective to conduct the logistics processes of the business through the technological processes (Graham, 2013, pp.44-48). The e-marketplaces have expanded into different functionalities ranging from operating as a transaction hub to financial services, inventory management and supply chain planning. The Free Markets is an online firm that drives market making to allow the different industrial companies to enter into agreements with the different suppliers through online bidding processes (Paul, Murphy and Wood, 2011, p.115). Such interactions often result in the development of a robust network of suppliers, which leads to reduction of costs for the buyers. This company had reached its break-even point within 2 years which indicates at the accelerating importance of internet in the supply chain practices of the business world. E-fulfilment E-fulfilment encompasses all the activities of communicating, generating, picking, processing and delivering the orders to the customers. This needs an effective supply chain and distribution system to ensure accurate and timely delivery for the proper order completion (Pannirselvam and Ferguson, 1999, pp.95-112). The internet plays the most critical role in the order fulfilment processes in e-commerce. Order fulfilment is a cost intensive and key activity involved in the supply chain management process. The internet has made the order placement process easier but the order fulfilment process has become more complex calling for innovative techniques based on real time information sharing and access to proper information resources. The sharing of data is critical in every step of the order fulfilment process and very information should be interlinked from the inventory levels, to the reorder levels, dead stocks, customer orders and so on. The proper use of the internet to share critical information related to stock order level and point of sales data can help to make the SCM less costly and more efficient (Oliver and Webber, 1992, pp.63-75). Conclusion The impact of the internet is a major area of focus in the supply chain management process. The development of e-SCM is only a step forward to integrate internet effectively in the supply chain and logistic processes. The main impact of internet is that it allows the sharing of real time data which is very useful for the smooth functioning of the supply chain management system. The use of internet can lead to several benefits like there reduction in the costs, maintenance of optimal inventory levels, proper allocation of stocks, advanced planning and proper forecasting of the demands and quick response to the anticipated market demands. References Bowersox, D. J., Closs, D. & Cooper, B. 2009, Supply Chain Logistics Management, 3/e, New Jersey: McGraw-Hill. Graham, D. 2013. Introduction to E-Logistics and E-Supply Chain Management. London: University of Greenwich Harrison, A. & Remko, H. V. 2008. Logistics Management and Strategy, 3/e. New Jersey: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall. Mangan, J., Lalwani, C. & Butcher, T. 2008. Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Nagurney, A., & Cruz, J. 2005. Supply chain networks, electronic commerce, and supply side and demand side risk. European Journal of Operational Research. Vol. 164(1), pp.120-142. Oliver, R. K. & Webber, M. D. 1992. Supply-chain management: logistics catches up with strategy. London: Chapman &Hall. Pp.63-75 Pannirselvam, G. P., & Ferguson, L. A. 1999. Operations Management Research: an update for the 1990s. Journal of Operations Management. Vol. 18(1), pp. 95-112. Paul, R. Murphy, Jr., & Wood, D. 2011, Contemporary Logistics, 10/e. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Prasad, S. & Babbar, S. 2000. International Operations Management Research. Journal of Operations Management. Vol. 18(1), pp. 209-247. Stock, J. R. & Lambert, D. 2000. Strategic Logistics Management, 4/e. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Read More