The Concept and Role of the Supply Chain for Business-to-Business Marketing - Coursework Example

Explain the Concept and Role of the Supply Chain for Business-To-Business Marketing Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Supply Chain Management 4 Key Players of a Supply Chain and the Challenges they Deal With in Business-to-Business Marketing 5 Main Issues in Managing the Supply Chain in Business-to-Business Marketing: Analysing in Macro Perspective Manner 8 Conclusion 12 References 13 Bibliography 16 Introduction With the changing environment of the modern day business operations, companies have the need to ensure effective performance in each of its domains to gain better efficiency and credibility. With maximum competition amid the companies in the global business market, the margin for error in any business has become minimum or negligible to say the least (Lu, 2011). Contextually, the performance of any business in its supply chain is considered to be of much significance. The process of supply chain management is considered the backbone of modern business organisations. Notably, the success of companies or any business is dependent on various aspects wherein supply chain can be considered as one of the prime elements. Observably, supply chain is often regarded as the process of integrating companies and their operations together with regard to the flow of products, services along with other aspects of modern businesses (Ellis, 2010). It has been analysed in this context that a basic supply chain process usually include a company, a supplier, distributer along with an instantaneous customer directly linked in the flow of goods as well as services of the organisation. The importance of supply chain in context of the modern day business is quite significant as it is directly associated with the operational wellbeing of the business (Warkentin, 2003). Correspondingly, this particular discussion will primarily deal with analysing the importance as well as the role of supply chain management in the domain of business-to-business marketing. The paper will also conclude some of the major prevailing issues associated with the supply chain management with considerations of two different industries, which will include the Textile Manufacturing Industry of China and Chemical Industry in Singapore in a macro prospective. Discussion Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management (SCM) is one of the most integral processes in the contemporary business environment. It will not be vague to depict that it is one of major elements, which can directly decide upon the success potentials or failure risks of a company, irrespective of its industrial positioning. SCM is often defined as the management of the flow of goods within any particular business context. It primarily involves the movement of materials or finished goods from one domain of the business to the other in a systematic manner, ensuring time effectiveness in each of the stages involved in the supply chain process. The process of supply chain in the modern day business context also involves the activities of designing, planning, monitoring, controlling as well as executing the performance of various supply chain activities in an effective and efficient manner altogether. According Lambert (2008), a supply chain management is a particular process undertaken by any business that is directly or indirectly associated with fulfilling the requests or demands of the customers in various departments of the business. It is a collective approach where failure in one of the department or stage of the supply chain ultimately leads to the failure in the entire supply chain process (Chopra, 2008). Again, in the similar context, Lambert (2008) stated that a supply chain management is a particular process in business that directly includes the logistics involving the customers and suppliers at a comprehensive manner. The study of Lambert (2008) succinctly affirmed that SCM is a particular process of maintaining relationship within the supply chain process (Lambert, 2008). Key Players of a Supply Chain and the Challenges they Deal With in Business-to-Business Marketing There are various key players/members involved in the process of supply chain when performing a business-to-business marketing function. These players might include the planners or the developers of the strategies, the customers, the distributers, the manufacturers and the suppliers. This is one of the basic forms of SCM, where each of the members play a key role to perform, which further influences the entire supply chain process to a substantial extent. However, the number or the nature of the players might differ based on the typology of the supply chain. Contextually, in a basic supply chain of business-to-business marketing, the players include the customers, the manufacturers, the suppliers, the companies, distributers and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) among others. The role of customers is one of the most prominent in SCM, as they are regarded as the ultimate receivers of the products that are passed through each of the stages of the supply chain process. Notably, any supply chain process mainly intends towards gaining customer’s satisfaction, attracting customers as well as retaining them through its process. Similar to that of customers, the role of the distributors is also of utmost importance in the supply chain process of business-to-business marketing. They are also regarded as the initial participants from which, the products are distributed to the potential customers. The subsequent member of the supply chain management includes the manufacturers. This player also has a significant role in the entire SCM, as they are ultimately responsible in executing the finished products from the materials acquired from the supplier businesses. For example, in textile companies, one company delivers materials of garments to the manufacturing company, which further utilises the same to deliver finished products. There are several challenges that these players have to deal with, while being associated with a particular supply chain process. Since the demand of high quality products and/or services is prominent in today’s business context, each of the players of the supply chain will need to show maximum efficacy towards their work so that they could be able to ensure the deliverance of high quality goods to the ultimate buyers. Furthermore, since there is handful of players associated with supply chain of business-to-business marketing, ensuring proper coordination with each other is a problem altogether (Toyin, 2012; Zhang, 2007). This aspect might impose considerable impacts on the entire supply chain process. There are various forms of supply chain that can be identified in today’s contemporary business scenario, which are further based on the differences and scale of organisational operations. Some of the various forms of supply chain include dynamic supply chain, stable supply chain, dominant supply chain and power-distribution supply chain among others. Supply chains are also segregated on the basis of their structure of integration, which could include horizontal supply chain and vertical chains. In vertical supply chain, companies vertically integrate their business operations in domains lying in different paths of the same product line (London, 2007). The type of integration in such supply chain includes forward supply chain and backward supply chain. On the other hand, in the horizontal supply chain, companies in the similar sort of industries having similar operational requirements and strategic intents, align their business operations together. These companies that align together horizontally, mostly belongs to same sort of companies dealing with the production of a similar kind of product (Slideshare, 2011). In both the forms of integration mentioned above, the complexity in the supply chain process tend to rise owing to lack of cooperation and time efficacy amid the companies involved in the supply chain. An example of a company that has implemented the vertical integration process in supply chain include Toyota Corporation while companies like Ford Motors and Volkswagen are involved with horizontal integration in their supply chain process (Slideshare, 2011). In various forms of supply chain process, there are severe issues existing within the supply chain owing to complexity in supply chain designs. Notably the demands and needs of the customers in the global market have been changing quite rapidly. Hence, when companies integrate amid each other in terms of business-to-business process, they need to take into consideration the attitude of the customers in a collective manner and work accordingly (Drzymalski, 2012). Furthermore, in business-to-business marketing supply chain, both the companies need to assure that they are able to reduce costs in the supply chain as well as they are able to take care of the quality of services that are to be provided to the final customers (Brennan & et. al., 2010). The problems in supply chain can also be segregated based on the differences in the two industries where companies belong. This can be better understood with the example of a manufacturing industry and service industry. In the supply chain of service industry, the focus remains mainly on gathering physical products along with ensuring a wider supplier base; while in the service sector, participants have little to do with the physical materials. This aspect poses challenges in proper integration of supply chain amid two players in the business-to-business marketing. It has also been analysed that in the manufacturing sector, the importance and the role of logistics is quite prominent while in the service sector the same depicts a limited significance of the same. This is because of the fact that manufacturing sector involves carrying of raw materials and final products more frequently, while in the service sector the frequency is observed as a very limited ratio. These factors also may result in enhancing complexities of supply chain integration in the business-to-business marketing operations (Brennan & et. al., 2010). Main Issues in Managing the Supply Chain in Business-to-Business Marketing: Analysing in Macro Perspective Manner As described above, there are various challenges associated with managing supply chain in the contemporary scenario of business-to-business transactions. Some of the basic challenges include the costs, efficiencies, the internal factors, the external factors and the geographical contexts among others. Cost is depicted as one of the major challenges faced by companies in business-to-business supply chain. With the ever-increasing cost of the materials along with labour, the cost effectiveness in the entire supply chain process has been impacted considerably. Additionally, managing the flow of materials in the entire supply chain process has also become a key issue associated with supply chain in business-to-business marketing. Relationship management is another challenge that has emerged in the supply chain process of business-to-business marketing in the present day context. Since companies lack coordination in such supply chain processes, proper relationship management is deemed quite a challenging task for companies functioning in the recent business environment. Additionally, increasing political and environmental challenges associating with business units is also perceived as a challenge that companies are dealing with in managing the supply chain in business-to-business marketing (Wordpress, 2013; Ellis, 2010). These challenges can better be comprehend from the practical examples of challenges faced by the textile industry of China and the chemical industry of Singapore as provided hereunder. The Chinese apparel industry is one of the leading industries in the world, in terms of both revenue and the scale of their operations. However, the supply chain challenges/issues prevalent in other sectors of the world are also seen in this particular industry of the world. The supply chain in the business-to-business sector of the apparel industry is currently observed as dealing with massive challenges involving the cost, efficiency in the supply chain environmental problems and logistics problems among others. The challenges faced by the supply chain process of the business-to-business sector are further identified as the internal corporate culture. There are also issues of sustainability that prevail around the supply chain of apparel industry in China. The ever-rising cost of the materials used in the Chinese apparel industry has significantly influenced the proper execution of the supply chain activities. Since the cost of cotton and energy is high, efficacy of the various stages of the supply chain process has also been impacted considerably in a macro perspective manner altogether. These aspects have made it quite challenging for companies to manage costs throughout the supply chain process of the business-to-business collaboration. Again, the effects of the environmental problems are also quite considerable in the Chinese apparel industry. Assuring a green supply chain process is one of the primary demands of concerned authorities from companies in the Chinese apparel industry. However, there are various issues identifiable within the manufacturing process in the apparel industry of China. The chemicals that are being emitted from the manufacturing are further scrutinized to affect the environment in a negative way, which further enhances the operational costs of the apparel industry in China and therefore, hampers cost effectiveness throughout its business-to-business supply chain. In addition, this particular challenge also imposes a degree of uncertainty on the suitability of the apparel industry in China in the long run. From a macro–perspective, it can certainly be regarded as a challenge for the industry (Lam, 2006). Observably, the prevailing political scenario of China is also affecting the proper management of the supply chain of the textile sector. Notably, the government of the nation has been inclined towards enacting certain criteria to be fulfilled by the players in the apparel industry among which, ensuring the growth of the economy is a primary factor. It is worth mentioning in this context that although the large players in the apparel sector are able to meet the implications of the government, the small players tend to fail in this regard. The small members of the industry are not able to take full advantage of the supply chain concept as per the governmental rules, which further pose immense challenges in the proper management of the entire supply chain process. Accordingly, a short life cycle of the fashion articles can also be identified as another major challenge that the supply chain of the industry is dealing with. Additionally, the supply chain participants of the industry also have to face challenges when aiming at the obtainment of accurate forecasts of the changing trends in the fashion sector, which leads to errors in the overall supply chain causing massive disruptions in its smooth functioning. The supply chain of the business-to-business marketing is also dealing with the problems of improper coordination amid the companies integrated in the supply chain, which again hinders proper management of the supply chain process (Cooper, 2013). As depicted earlier, the problems of supply chain amid the business-to-business domain is prevalent in various sectors or industries. Correspondingly, these aspects are also prevalent in the chemical sector of Singapore. The industry is dealing with certain key macro-economic challenges in terms of managing its supply chain functions, which can directly be related to the environmental as well as regulatory elements persisting within the national periphery. With investors’ focus and strategic inclination shifted towards the Asian nations, the importance of performing well in every sector of the business has augmented considerably to a much higher-level altogether (Singapore Economic Development Board, 2014). Notably, the supply chain process in the Singaporean chemical is dealing with the increasing risk of forecasting demands of the industry. Since the companies in this particular sector are shifting their supply chain operations from the traditional to the modern day approach, such a transition has also impacted the managerial functioning of the supply chain sector to a noteworthy extent (Knowler, 2014). The political scenario of the nation as per the chemical industry has also posed challenges in proper management of supply chain in the chemical sector (Carpenter, 2013). The taxation policies of the government is also deemed to be quite stern towards the chemical sector of the nation, which again acts as a potential hindrance in the growth of the supply chain, which ultimately influences the proper management of the marketing process in the sector, concerning its business-to-business sector operations (Lam, 2000). Information sharing is another aspect that poses noteworthy challenges for the companies in their supply chain process in the chemical industry of Singapore. Contextually, it is visible that there is little communication amid the various players in the chemical industry of Singapore, which not only hinders proper information sharing but it also negatively impacts the smooth conduct of supply chain functions. In addition, it has been analysed that in the business-to-business supply chain process, in the Singaporean chemical industry, involves logistics handling is performed through ships and trucks, i.e. through waterways and roadways. However, owing to continuous halt in the logistics due to natural and manmade problems, the supply chain process in the said industry sector becomes slower (The Logistics Institute - Asia Pacific, n.d.). It is known that the impact of chemical industry on the environment is quite dreadful to say the least. In order to obstruct this negative impact of the industry to the natural environment, the Singaporean Ministry of Environment has developed various laws and regulations. These environmental regulatory measures have also been observed to hinder the proper execution of growth plans of businesses or participants functioning within the supply chain process in the business-to-business domain of Singaporean chemical industry (Ministry of Manpower, n.d.). Conclusion From the overall analysis, it can be comprehended that SCM is one of the most significant processes in the modern day business environment. The effectiveness and efficiencies of any business is largely dependent on the proper execution of the activities within the supply chain process. However, it will be crucial to depict that in the modern day scenario, several key challenges exist that companies are dealing with regard to ensure proper execution of the supply chain process. In this context, the study conducted above has depicted the challenges facing by the players involved in the supply chain process, which is further quite likely to hinder the effectiveness of the entire supply chain process. The paper has also depicted the examples of the chemical industry of Singapore and textile industry of China in order to provide in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by the business-to-business supply chain process in the global scenario. Hence, it can be concluded that the role of the supply chain for business-to-business marketing and effective measures should be adopted by companies in order to deal with the challenges hampering the smooth operations of supply chain in this particular sector. References Brennan, R. & et. al., 2010. Business-to-Business Marketing. SAGE. Chopra, S., 2008. Supply Chain Management, 3/e. Pearson Education India. Carpenter, K., 2013. Singapore’s Chemical Industry: Engineering an Island. American Institute of Chemical Engineering, pp. 56-60. Cooper, W. D., 2013. A Fresh Look at the U.S./Chinese Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Question. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 1-16. Drzymalski, J., 2012. Supply Chain Frameworks for the Service Industry: A Review of the Literature. European International Journal of Science and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 31-42. Ellis, N., 2010. Business to Business Marketing: Relationships, Networks and Strategies. 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