A critical analysis of differing strategic perspectives of producers, retailers and logistics service providers: Essay, UUM, Malaysia

A critical analysis of differing strategic perspectives of producers, retailers and logistics service providers and their potential impact on the supply chain.

Supply chain is the flow of network entities, consists of distribution centers, suppliers, retailers, carriers, manufacturing sites, and customers, which passes from producing to delivering of final product (Kondratjev, 2015).

In particular, it encompasses all activities including sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing, assembling, warehousing, inventory tracking, order entry, order management, distributing and delivering to the customer.

In contrast, supply chain management integrates inside and outside parties within the organization, which includes employees, suppliers, partners, distributors, carriers, third parties companies, customers and information systems managers.

These parties work together to ensure the entire process of supply chain work effectively and efficiently, the processes involves creating, sourcing, making and delivering the demand (Croxtonet al., 2001).

Supply chain activities are controlling the flow of raw materials, adding value to the product and distributing the product to the customer. Thus, process of supply chain has an extended activities involves, plan, coordinate, control, facilitate the process from the suppliers to customers (Prasad and Sounderpandian, 2003).

The goals of high quality of customer service, low and sufficient of inventory level and low unit cost which need to achieve by managing a great balance within the supply chains of the business. Furthermore, three importance elements of supply chain for every organization are customer service, balance between costs and service and competitive advantage of the company.

The efficiency, effectiveness, relevancy, and competitive advantage must be combined with specific activities, which result reflects in value added services process. Value added services serve as a large pool in contributing horizontal integration of supply chain to achieve high customization (Chen and Notteboom, 2012).

Supply chain has directional effect on the choice of to purchase or produce. A significant view of purchasing is to minimize investment, cost and improve flexibility, meanwhile producing is to enhances predictability, increase investment and decrease flexibility.

Obviously, supply chain is beneficial to markets and hierarchies, as such supplier-company relations depending on stability on both parties and the ability to provide sufficient resources. In modern, supply chain has focus more on supply chain management, which in turn led to profitable managers and make firms more customer- oriented in improving effectiveness and efficiency of supply chain processes.

Supply chain management focuses on the factors influencing company’s performance. It consists of analyzing, describing, assuming the key factors that influences company performance (Ketchen and Giunipero, 2004).

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