Purchasing and SC Management in practice - Assignment Example

In actual practice, supply chain management ensures integration of supply as well as demand management both within and across businesses (Monczka and Trent, 2009, pg. 57). The major goal of the process is aimed at collaboration as opposed to competition in all parts involved in supply chain management but eventually leads to the creation of a competitive advantage. Through collaboration, personal and mutual satisfaction results from cost cuts as well as increased profitability. The retail businesses continuously realize the need to rely on effective supply chains or networks to ensure effective competition in the current global market comprised of the networked economy.

In most scenarios, retail businesses engage in inter-organizational supply processes forming a network that is like a new form of organization. However, interactions tend to present complicated scenarios making it difficult for businesses to present the best structure that fully fits any particular market. The paper, therefore, presents a critical examination of purchasing and supply chain management practices in the retail sector while also illustrating with specific examples how the practices contribute towards creating competitive advantage in the retail market.

While the issue of supply chain management (SCM) is mentioned, majority of individuals tend to relate the benefits related to the process to manufacturing and other big companies. However, with the concept of globalization and competitive markets arising in the recent past, SCM has also proved essential and to some extent beneficial in retail business, though at times attributed to side effects. In the retail business perspective, the focus is different from other market players in that it focuses on more specific factors like the retail business itself as opposed to a broader category (Weele, 2010, pg. 87). In the retailing