A supply chain is the system of moving a product from supplier to consumer over the course of its entire lifecycle. This lifecycle may include the procurement of raw materials; their transport and storage to manufacturing facilities; warehouse management of finished goods; and the logistics of shipping inventory to retailers all over the world.
Efficient supply chain management is critically important to the success of any business that sells products, as failures to control costs and protect against disruptions can be fatal in competitive markets. Thus, the responsibilities of supply chain managers are much more than simply shipping goods from point A to point B.
For starters, they must be the operations experts of an organization, with the ability to optimize every stage of these often complex product lifecycles. Lean Six Sigma methodologies or similar data-based approaches to process improvement are often used by supply chain managers to identify opportunities to reduce margins.
However, supply chain managers must also have a knack for planning, with the ability to look ahead and anticipate future needs and challenges. They must use demand forecasting models to anticipate likely demand for their company’s products, and ensure that sufficient supplies will be available to meet it. Supply chain risk management is also critical, requiring a careful eye to identify potential sources of disruption and create contingency plans to manage these events.