Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is a crucial part of a business that determines consumer satisfaction and company success. Learn about the steps and goals of supply chain management.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Supply Chain Management
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1SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
It can be said that the supply chain management function is one of the most crucial
parts of a business. The efficacy of the same determines the level of consumer satisfaction
and the degree of achievement and success of the company (Yu et al. 2013). A good supply
management system is said to enhance the level of consumer service and satisfaction, keep
the operating costs under check and stabilize the financial position of the company (Yu et al.
2013). The supply chain of “sunny days” constitutes of the suppliers, the manufacturer, the
retailer and finally the consumers.
The supply chain of sunny days follows five steps. The Planning phase is the first
step of the process. It includes the operational, tactical and the business strategy. It is the
stage that is concerned with, determining the size and locations of the manufacturer, research
of the market and determination of the nature of the logistics division. In order to adjudge the
nature of performance of this phase, the performance indicators should be looked at. Since
this stage mainly involves planning, the component should be measured and thus should be
measurable. Along with the financial indicators, the non-financial indicators such as
relationship with the manufacturer, competency and location of the same should be adjudged
as they will determine the long term success of the company.
The next two stages are development and manufacturing of the ice creams. The nature
of the operation, be it outsourced or not, the owner would have to establish and build
relations with the suppliers and the manufacturers. The standards of the company’s
operations and their products and the performance outcome as implied by the same can be
measured by indicators such as benchmarking and inventory metrics. Benchmarking is a
process by which the products of a company are put to the test against the top performers of
the company (Jothimani and Sarmah 2014). Receipt of the inventory should be marked. This
helps in maintaining stock accuracy which becomes beneficial when measuring the stock turn
over from the warehouses and the manufacturing units. Additionally the operations should be

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measured in terms of their legal competency derivable margins of profits, consumed space
within the warehouse and others.
The delivery stage deals with the performance and the efficacy of the logistics
division. In this stage the owners should determine nature of performance by screening
factors with cost performance management. Measurable performance in terms of freight,
carrying cost, duties, packaging and warehousing costs should be screened for financial
appraisal. Non-financial appraisal can be conducted on the basis of deliveries carried out
successfully and vice versa. The efficiency of the transporters can be adjudged using
tachographs which is used to monitor the location and speed of the freight (Mikac and Mikac
2013).
Goals of every companies are directly or indirectly linked to consumer behavior. They
determine the success or failure of the product (Rani 2014). Thus the final stage of the supply
chain management revolves around the final consumer. In order to ensure that the customers
are satisfied, the owners should devise ideal strategies by studying the trends in the market
and the pattern of behavior of the customers. Additionally, they can receive feedback on their
products by asking their opinions on the point-of-purchase or by indulging in research related
to consumer satisfaction.

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REFERENCES
Jothimani, D. and Sarmah, S.P., 2014. Supply chain performance measurement for third party
logistics. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 21(6), pp.944-963.
Mikac, M. and Mikac, V., 2013. Driver activity tracking software supporting analogue and
digital tachographs. ACTA TECHNICA CORVINIENSIS–Bulletin of Engineering. 6 (2013), 1,
pp.21-26.
Rani, P., 2014. Factors influencing consumer behaviour. International journal of current
research and academic review, 2(9), pp.52-61.
Yu, W., Jacobs, M.A., Salisbury, W.D. and Enns, H., 2013. The effects of supply chain
integration on customer satisfaction and financial performance: An organizational learning
perspective. International Journal of Production Economics, 146(1), pp.346-358.