Supply Chain Integration: Standards, SAP, and System Integration

This report provides an analysis of supply chain integration, examining the role of government-set standards, the contribution of SAP in collaborative supply chain applications, and the integration of front-end and back-end systems. The report draws on three different information sources to demonstrate a detailed understanding of supply chain integration and its associated advantages. It explores how supply chain standards enhance management, the benefits of SAP's collaborative production and supply chain applications, and the importance of integrating front-end and back-end systems to improve consumer service, enhance productivity, and provide investment returns. The conclusion highlights the key findings regarding supply chain process standards and their role in guiding activities.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION
Supply Chain Integration
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Supply Chain Standards...............................................................................................................2
3. SAP in Collaborating Supply Chain Applications.......................................................................3
4. Integration of Front-end and Back-end Systems.........................................................................4
5. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

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1. Introduction
The objective of the paper is to analyze the articles that are concerned with evaluating the
government setting supply chain standards for enabling the better integration on the supply
chain. The paper will use three different information sources and it will be demonstrate a detailed
understanding on the overall supply chain integration along with its associated advantages.
Moreover, the paper will also attempt to explain the supply chain standards, contribution of SAP
in collaborating with the supply chain applications along with integration of front end and back
end systems associated with supply chain integration along with better quality management.
2. Supply Chain Standards
The article “Supply chain standards up for federal funding” is evaluated in explaining
that setting supply chain standards enhance supply chain management (Chaudhuri, 2015). From
evaluation of the article it has been gathered that congress is considering legislation authoring
$47 million that facilitates in developing standards of supply chain integration. The article has
also explained that “The legislation, the Enterprise Integration Act of 2002” that has been
approved by the United States that remains pending in the Senate (Wang et al., 2016). It does not
have any apparent opposition and remains supported by industry groups. The article review
explained that the objective of the supply chain standards is to enable integration all through the
supply chain in order to speed up transactions along with decreasing delays and inventory (de
Mattos & Barbin Laurindo, 2015). For example, if a large automaker alters any design
specification within a bumper, its suppliers might easily and quickly observe the ways in which
such new s[specifications impacts its components.

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The article made it clear that the supply chain standards development initiatives is
intended to move ahead with or without any congressional assistance. From review of this article
it is clear that manufactures realize that there can be an increased opportunity to bring out cost
from the supply chain (Gayialis et al., 2015). However, as per the views of the article, incentives
for organizations to push for supply chain standards are not always apparent. Daniel Garretson,
who is an analyst at Forrester Research Inc primarily, stated in the article that the savings remain
confined within the supply chain (Wang et al., 2016). Moreover, it is a mismatch between the
place of savings and the place where the manufacturers have their power. Supply chain process
standards serves as a guide that offers a structure of processes that are observed to be involved in
carrying out supply chain associated activities. Supply chain standards support in providing
practitioners, consultants and educators with a reference tool to help its companies in realizing
potential gaps all through a wide spectrum of their processes of supply chain (Hahn &
Packowski, 2015).
3. SAP in Collaborating Supply Chain Applications
From review of the article “SAP plans apps to link plants, supply chains” it was gathered
that SAP has a well developed team of developers that focuses on collaborative production along
with supply chain applications which might work jointly as a single system. The effective
product suite helps in integrating operations that ranges from procurement of raw materials to
delivery of finalized products (Holley, 2002). The article also explained in collaborating supply
chain, SAP provides opportunities of enhanced inventory turns, shorter manufacturing cycle
period, superior quality management along with facilitating a decrease in total operating costs
with needs of working capital. The article also explained that as supply chains are evolving
within demand networks with highly dynamic, lean along with internationally dispersed

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assortment of external and internal partners, collaboration is turning out to be new strategic
capability (Wang et al., 2016). Considering the same, SAP explained that cloud based
innovations that increased the connectivity, society and Ariba Network insights that can help
organizations become highly agile, intelligent along with collaborative supply chains for
attaining success in the recent year’s global and networked economy (Mangan & Lalwani, 2016).
The delivery of SAP supply chain orchestration indicated that SAP’s continuous commitment to
the company’s supply chain strategy. Associated with the launch of such initiatives will alter
supply chains to demand networks in the upcoming years that facilitates consumers to address
new challenges within volatile marketplace which was clouded with complexities logistics.
With an established along with broader employed SAP Supply Network Collaboration
application built in, organizations can collaborate with the supply chain network with the
suppliers along with contract manufacturers that facilitates innovative along with advanced
collaborative business process with capabilities that is sector specific (Ross, 2016). Collaborative
supply chain applications offers organizations with increased visibility into supply chain trading
partners along with an interface in order to manage the needs of advanced supply chain. Through
easy integration to certain back-end system along with supplier on-boarding services
organization might easily collaborate on confirmations, orders, scheduling agreement releases,
financing along with VAT complaint invoices (Wang et al., 2016).
4. Integration of Front-end and Back-end Systems
From review of the article “The urge to merge: Integrating front- and back-end systems”
it was gathered that within the supply chain management of companies, integration between the
back and front-end systems considering overall integration of supply chain might facilitate in

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improving consumer service, enhance productivity along with offering ultimate considerable
investment returns (Songini, 2002). Holley, in the article expressed a view that devoid of such
integration back-end systems such as finance, human resource along with ERP application stays
un-utilized. Moreover, the front-end systems such as sales, marketing, consumer service with
support applications and consumer relationship management (CRM) remains relegated to a
common contact, order processing functions along with account management. From analyzing
the article it was gathered that a basic challenge can be disparate and proprietary technologies
prepared by several vendors which run the back as well as front-end systems. In addition, the
expense of anticipating the accurate points of interface among systems along with developing
custom interfaces for such points are generally increased than the aspects for which several
companies are willing to pay (Thibodeau, 2002). The article offered a good instance that the
emerging standards associated with web services are making integration quite simpler. The
article review explained that component inventories are regularly supervised all through the
supply chain and any deviations from the plan, the sales force can attract consumers through
discounts. For such reasons, timely information is used in order to use the front as well as back
ends of the supply chain consecutively. The article also explained that the supply chain
integration process needs disciplined management skills application of the supply chain
processes, management skills along with technologies to collaborate key functions along with
capabilities of the supply chain (Wang et al., 2016). Collaborated supply chain can be explained
as linked with consumers and suppliers through employing management techniques that works
together in optimizing through effective performance in distribution, creation and end product
support.

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5. Conclusion
The objective of the paper is to analyze the articles that are concerned with evaluating the
government setting supply chain standards for enabling the better integration on the supply
chain. The paper will use three different information sources and it will be demonstrate a detailed
understanding on the overall supply chain integration along with its associated advantages. The
paper revealed that supply chain process standards serves as a guide that offers a structure of
processes that are observed to be involved in carrying out supply chain associated activities.
Supply chain standards support in providing practitioners, consultants and educators with a
reference tool to help its companies in realizing potential gaps all through a wide spectrum of
their processes of supply chain.

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References
Chaudhuri, S. (2015). Application of Supply Chain Management through SAP in Agriculture of
SAARC Nations. In Strategic Infrastructure Development for Economic Growth and
Social Change (pp. 347-359). IGI Global.
de Mattos, C. A., & Barbin Laurindo, F. J. (2015). Collaborative platforms for supply chain
integration: Trajectory, assimilation of platforms and results. Journal of technology
management & innovation, 10(2), 79-92.
Gayialis, S. P., Ponis, S. T., Panayiotou, N. A., & Tatsiopoulos, I. P. (2015). Managing Demand
in supply chain: the business process modeling approach. In 4th international symposium
and 26th national conference on operational research, Chania, Greece (pp. 73-79).
Hahn, G. J., & Packowski, J. (2015). A perspective on applications of in-memory analytics in
supply chain management. Decision Support Systems, 76, 45-52.
Holley, C. J. (2002). The urge to merge: Integrating front- and back-end systems. Customer
Inter@ction Solutions, 21(3), 38-41. Retrieved on December 9, 2014, from ProQuest.
(ProQuest doc ID 208160220)
Mangan, J., & Lalwani, C. (2016). Global logistics and supply chain management. John Wiley &
Sons.
Ross, D. F. (2016). Introduction to supply chain management technologies. CRC Press.

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Songini, M.L. (2002). SAP plans apps to link plants, supply chains. Computerworld, 36(45),
20.Retrieved on December 9, 2014, from ProQuest. (EBSCO Accession Number
7887672)
Thibodeau, P., (2002). Supply chain standards up for federal
funding. Computerworld, 36(42).Retrieved on December 9, 2014, from ProQuest.
(EBSCO Accession Number 7587647)
Wang, G., Gunasekaran, A., Ngai, E. W., & Papadopoulos, T. (2016). Big data analytics in
logistics and supply chain management: Certain investigations for research and
applications. International Journal of Production Economics, 176, 98-110.