Are Your Supply Chain Management Employees Thinking Domestic or Global?
Copyright 2006 Sherry Harris
Global supply chain management has emerged as a major topic
in the age of globalization and now it is sitting at the
heart of the whole system. But you might be asking
yourself, so what exactly is supply chain management and
how can it affect my company?
Let’s understand what it is first.
From the production house the product starts it journey and
travels through to the supplier, distributor, retailer and
ends at the hands of the consumer. This whole journey is a
well managed mechanism and controlled by supply chain
management. When it goes global and the journey of the
product covers multiple countries, then it is called global
supply chain management.
With globalization, business has become more complex.
Global supply chain management not only mobilizes products
but also the entire value added chain, in which financial
activities and sharing of information are also included.
Big companies have many hubs around the world. Raw
materials, finished products, finance and other pertinent
information travel from one hub to the next. Global supply
chain management is the basis of the whole operation.
The cost of production and profitability is dependant on
the global supply chain as well as how well employees
throughout the company are trained for such fast-paced
tasks.
Global supply chain management has two major components:
1. International movement of products and raw materials,
title transformation, payments, controlling risk factors 2.
In parallel with the above activities, an information
network is hard at work. Information sharing and collecting
is very important to run an effective global supply chain
management system
The efficiency of the global supply chain management of any
company can make everything look easy. However in order to
attain those efficiencies your employees need to understand
the fundamentals. The most basic fundamental is that
supply chain management is not just domestic anymore nor is
it just for large corporations. Small and midsize
companies have to be global supply chain management savvy
if they wish to survive.
The growth and development of a company is largely
dependent on the global supply chain management system and
its most important asset - employees.
Are your employees top-notch when it comes to global supply
chain skills? If you can’t answer yes then you better
start thinking about training because your competitors are.
So, what type of training is needed companywide?
First, introduce employees to global supply chain
management. Don’t assume they grasp the concept. With
increased globalization and offshore sourcing, global
supply chain management is becoming an important issue for
many businesses. So, make sure the foundation is laid.
Second, employees should learn the underlying factors
behind the trend to reducing the cost of procurement and
decreasing the risks related to purchasing activities.
Third, they should understand the following principles: a)
competition is no longer among independent companies but
instead about connected supply chains b) supply chain
competition is global c) winners will be companies that
best integrate and achieve commitment to supply chain
excellence among diverse organizations
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Sherry Harris is the President and CEO of online career
training school, Malibu Institute.  For more information
on master certificate courses and programs offered, go to:
http://www.MalibuInstitute.com
