Overview of Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Every product on the shelf, from raw material to finished good, gets there through a chain of decisions and handoffs. Understanding how that chain works is the first step to managing it well.

This video gives you a plain-language overview of logistics and supply chain management, walking through the full process from start to finish.

Watch the video to learn more! 

If you'd like to learn more about modern supply chain management, download our eBook What Does a Modern Supply Chain Look Like?

There are five principal steps to a supply chain. These are:

• Sourcing materials
• Refining them into basic parts
• Assembling these parts into products
• Selling the products to customers
• Delivering the product

Managing all of these aspects of a supply chain is traditionally done through manual, paper-based processes, but more recently, cloud systems have taken precedence as the smarter, more scalable solution.

Many organizations still operate on older, legacy systems, and those systems often lack the flexibility and scalability today's companies need.

What Happens When There Are Supply Chain Disruptions?

Global disruptions, from geopolitical shifts to shipping delays to raw material shortages, have shown just how fragile supply chains can be, and how exposed companies are when they lack the tools to respond quickly.

This is where modern technology solutions like enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems come in.

ERPs can be integrated with supply chain management (SCM) modules, giving businesses a real-time overview of logistics and supply chain management they can use to inform decisions at any point in the chain.

Data reaches stakeholders in real time, no matter where they're located.

If there's a disruption in sourcing, inventory, or supplying, the system can flag it automatically, giving stakeholders the time and opportunity to react before it becomes a bigger problem.

In short, a modern organization needs a modern approach and the right technology to manage its supply chain effectively.

If you'd like to learn more about modern supply chain management, download our eBook What Does a Modern Supply Chain Look Like?