The role of supply chain management

IT is probably safe to assume that the supply chain does not figure strongly at most Malaysian retail firms. After all, in the last month how many times have you heard the classic line (normally delivered with an uninterested shrug of the shoulders) “No stock lah!”? 

But there’s more to supply chain management than ensuring sales staff have something to do. SCM is shorthand for the interconnected coordination of the flow of materials, information and finances (credit terms, payment schedules, etc.) as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to customer.