What is Supply Chain Management?

What is Supply Chain Management?

If you have ever checked out a newspaper advertisement, driven to the store, and purchased your favorite product at a ridiculously low price, then you can thank supply chain managers for a job well done! Supply chain management (SCM) is all the activities that take place to get a product in your hands – from the time of raw materials extraction to the minute you pull out your credit card and take the final product home. SCM focuses on planning and forecasting, purchasing, product assembly, moving, storing, and keeping track of a product as it flows toward you and other consumers.

Is this supply chain management stuff important? Absolutely! Companies like Dell, Nokia, Proctor & Gamble, Toyota, and Wal-Mart consider supply chain management to be a key factor in their success. supply chain management makes it possible to build and deliver products better, faster, and cheaper. The same story holds true for iPods, Starbucks espresso, Under Armour workout apparel, and every product that you use and enjoy each day. Check out the video clips from "What in the World Is Global Supply Chain?" for more SCM highlights.

Not only is supply chain management important to the world’s leading organizations, this fast-paced, global field offers tremendous employment opportunities. Supply chain managers are in high demand but limited supply, meaning that you’ll have wide-ranging supply chain management career options and advancement prospects. In short, nearly every size and type of organization needs motivated, well-prepared individuals like you to become their supply chain leaders of the future!

You'll find a wide variety of supply chain management-related information throughout this website. In just a few minutes, you can click around the pages to find:

• Formal SCM definitions
• Information on career opportunities and salary data
• Links to university programs and professional organizations
• And much more

Check back often as Careers in Supply Chain Management is a dynamic website. New content will be added frequently.