Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management studies the coordination of the flows of goods, information, and finance from suppliers to customers.

Scope

It covers logistics and distribution, supplier relationships, inventory and the bullwhip effect, and global supply-chain design and resilience.

Core questions

• How are flows of goods and information coordinated across firms?
• How can supply chains be made efficient and resilient?
• What causes demand distortions like the bullwhip effect?
• How are global supply chains designed?

Key concepts

• Logistics
• Bullwhip effect
• Supplier relationships
• Inventory management
• Supply-chain integration
• Resilience

Key theories

Industrial dynamics / the bullwhip effect

Forrester showed how information delays amplify demand fluctuations along supply chains.

Supply chain as strategy

Oliver and Webber introduced 'supply chain management', integrating logistics with strategy.

History

Supply chain management grew from industrial dynamics (Forrester) and the integration of logistics with strategy (Oliver & Webber) into a field central to global production and resilience.

Debates

Efficiency versus resilience

Whether supply chains should optimize for cost efficiency or robustness to disruption.

Key figures

• Jay Forrester
• Keith Oliver

Seminal works

• forrester-1961
• oliver-webber-1982

Frequently asked questions

What is the bullwhip effect?

The amplification of demand variability up a supply chain, as small consumer changes cause larger swings in upstream orders.