Supply chain management in the uk construction Industry - Essay Example

According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), “supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion and all logistics management activities” (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, n.d.). In addition to these, SCM also includes collaboration and coordination with channel partners which includes suppliers, customers as well as intermediaries. The council also says that the supply chain management also plays a crucial role in integrating demand and supply management across and within the companies.

According to James B. Ayers, supply chain management is all about “designing, maintenance and operation of supply chain process, including those that make up extended product features, for satisfaction of end-user needs” (Ayers, 2000). Over the past few decades various techniques regarding supply chain management (SCM) have been used successfully in different industries like manufacturing and food. In these industries, the supply process encompasses all those activities that are associated with the processing – from raw materials to the finishing of the final product.

The entire process involves procurement, production scheduling, inventory management, order processing, storage, customer service, transport and all the supporting information systems. Roy Morledge, Mohieddin Grada and Andrew Knight opined that in manufacturing industry, supply chain management strategies are adopted assuming that it is “an ongoing process where supplier and customer experience involves frequent transactions for the same or similar products” (Pryke, 2009). SCM strategies are considered as the key in maintaining quality and making the innovation process easier.

Each of the aspects through which SCM is integrated with the manufacturing and food industry can be discussed in the