原创 供应链管理学习笔记（二）

供应链未来趋势

Future trends

The practice of supply chain management is a very recent phenomenon, as many organizations are just now beginning to realize the benefits and problems that accompany an integrated supply chain. 【1】Supply chain management is an incredibly complex undertaking involving cultural change among most or all of the participants, investment and training in new software and communication systems, and a change or realignment of the competitive strategies employed among the participating firms.

1. Expanding the supply chain

As markets for the supply chain grow, so too must the supply chain. Today, U.S. firms are increasing their partnerships with foreign firms and building foreign production facilities to accommodate their market expansion plans and increase their responsiveness to global economic conditions and demand. The supply chain dynamic today is changing, and companies are now working with firms located all over the globe to coordinate purchasing, manufacturing, shipping, and distribution activities.【2】 While this global expansion of the supply chain is occurring, firms are also trying to expand their control of the supply chain to include second- and third- tier suppliers and customers. Thus supply chain expansion is occurring on two fronts: increasing the breadth of the supply chain to include foreign manufacturing, office, and retail sites, along with foreign suppliers and customers; and increasing the depth of the supply chain to include second- and third-tier suppliers and customers.

2. Increasing supply chain responsiveness

Agile manufacturing, JIT, mass customizations, efficient consumer response, and quick response are all terms referring to concepts that are intended to make the firms more flexible and responsive to customer requirements and changes. Particularly with the tremendous levels of competition in almost all avenues of business, firms (and their supply chains) are looking today at ways to become more responsive to their customers. To achieve greater levels of customer responsiveness, supply chains must identify the end customers’ needs, look at what the competition is doing and position the supply chain’s products and services to successfully compete, and then consider the impact of these requirements on the supply chain participants and the intermediate products and services they provide. 【3】Once these issues have been adequately addressed among the firms in the supply chain, additional improvement in responsiveness comes from designing more effective and faster product and service delivery systems as products are passed through the supply chain and by continuously monitoring changes occurring the marketplace and using this information to reposition the supply chain to stay competitive.

3. The greening of supply chains

Producing, packaging, moving, storing, repackaging, and delivering products to their final destinations can pose a significant threat to the environment in terms of discarded packaging materials, carbon monoxide emissions, noise, traffic congestion, and other forms of industrial pollution.【4】 As the practice of supply chain management becomes more widespread, firms and their supply chain partners will be working harder to reduce these environmental problems. In fact, relationships between companies in an integrated supply chain are much more conducive to taking a more proactive approach to reducing the negative environmental consequences of producing, moving, and storing products as they move through the supply chain.【5】

4. Reducing supply chain costs

Considering again the objectives of supply chain management, cost reduction is clearly high on this list of priorities. Cost reduction can be achieved throughout the supply chain by reducing waste as already described, by reducing purchasing costs, and by reducing excess inventories and non-value-adding activities among the supply chain participants. As supply chains become more mature, they tend to improve their performance in terms of these cost reduction activities through use of continuous improvement efforts, better supply chain communication, and a further integration of process.【6】

Notes:

1供应链管理的应用是在最近才开始的现象，许多公司也刚刚意识到伴随整合供应链而来的利益和问题。

2动态的供应链目前也在变化着，公司间就采购、制造、运输和分销活动开始全球性的合作。

3为了达到更高水平的客户响应率，供应链必须鉴别客户需求，通过观察供应链产品和服务的竞争形势和位置取得成功，然后考虑对供应链参与者的需求和他们提供的中间产品和服务的影响。

4生产、包装、移动、仓储、重新包装、交付产品到他们的最终目的地能够减少包装材料、一氧化碳释放、噪音、交通阻塞和其他形式的工业污染对环境的威胁。

5事实上，已整合的供应链环节上的公司间关系更有益于采取一种主动的方式去减少生产、移动和仓储产品过程中对环境带来的负面影响。

6随着供应链发展得越来越成熟，通过持续改善活动来降低成本，更好地沟通和业务的深层次整合会使绩效得到提升。