Flows in Supply Chains

Following Chopra and Meindl (2001), the key flows in a supply chain are the following  

the flows in the supply chain are not just goods. Tracking flows from the suppliers to the customers is called moving downstream in the supply chain. Tracking flows from the customers to the suppliers is called moving upstream in the supply chain. 

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Vergara F.E., 2002. An evolutionary algorithm for optimising material flow in supply chains. Computers Industrial Engineering, 43,407-421. 

Technological progress determines the characteristics of flows in supply chains. It influences flow time, quality, cost, effectiveness and efficiency. The computerisation and automation of operation is the most dynamic economic trend. Labour costs in supply chains, in particular in high-tech sectors, are more often generated by intellectual and social capital than by the actual labour force. The trend described above is demonstrated by the improvement of operational indicators of supply chains such as production efficiency, delivery time, production and distribution waste and process quality. It seems obvious that in the foreseeable future those supply chains that do not use modern solutions will be less competitive or will, following a survival strategy, search for other sources of competitive advantage. 

Here, we develop the information flow aspects of our model in Figure 1.4. We also show how there is another flow in supply chains - funds flow. Funds flow in the opposite direction to materials. Funds - in the form of cash - originate from the end-customer, and are used to pay the bills progressively from one supply chain partner to the next upstream. 

In addition to the processes involved in supply chain management, this figure illustrates the product flows and information linkages that must take place in a supply chain. Remember that product flows take place only after information flows are initiated. 

Sahin, E, Robinson, E.P. (2002). Flow coordination and information sharing in supply chains Review, implications, and directions for future research. Decision Sciences, 33(4), 505-536. 

The literature in supply chain management dates back to the work of Geoffrion and Graves (1974). Their work describes an optimal flow of multi-commodity logistics from the plants to the end users. This model is further explored in Geoffrion and Powers (1995) as a review of the evolution of the distribution strategies. 

The chapter identifies and categorizes the sources of IT threats in supply chains through a laige-scale survey of companies across various supply chain functions. The authors aigue that the integration of information flows facilitates supply chain collaboration and also increases supply chain risks. The authors suggest that in order for supply chain collaboration to succeed, the benefits of IT integration must exceed the increase in supply chain risk affected by IT. 

Headlines related to globalization are with us constantly. Globalization forces are deemed by most as unstoppable — despite efforts to halt or delay them — and must be heeded in supply chain planning. Globalization has been with us as long as there has been trade between countries. It does have growing relevance and visibility because national boundary obstacles to information, capital, and physical flows are vanishing rapidly. 

Dies (SMED) in a single digit. The SMED philosophy is important in moving from batch to flow oriented supply chains. 

From this point of view, one of the most important tasks of supply chain management is to minimize, sometimes to avoid adverse effects caused by uncertainty in a supply chain to ensure the regularity of material flow, enhance flexibility as well as certainty, and reduce costs. To achieve those goals, optimizing the supply chain program plays a profound role in supply chain management. 

A business process model is used to represent the physical and information flows and their processing in supply chains. It is assumed that the physical data flow and supply chain units mainly dealing with processing of physical products are represented as a single entity while supply chain units mainly dealing with information processing are represented as independent units. Therefore, the physical supply chain units are represented in the business process as lanes in a single pool (Fig. 12.2), and the electronic supply chain units are represented as separate pools (see Sect. 12.4.2). 

A supply chain consists of various t5q)es of organisation, among which numerous network connections are formed. Through their involvement in the management of material goods and information flows, the links in the chain participate in the development of supplier-buyer connections. Connections between suppliers and buyers constitute a repetitive sequence in supply chains and, as such, can be deemed essential. Each business unit operating in the supply chain is a supplier and a buyer at the same time. This applies to suppliers of raw materials and retailers alike. 

Each adverse effect, e.g. fire in suppliers facilities or the bankruptcy of the main business partner, causes certain consequences and problems for other links in the supply chain. The effect of the consequences of risk along the supply chain is defined as disruption. Such a turn of events is commonly compared to the domino effect. One event triggers another, and the consequence of one event becomes the cause of another. Disruptions in supply chains are "unplanned events that may occur in the supply chain which might affect the normal or expected flow of materials and components" (Svensson 2000, pp. 731-749). An adverse effect that leads to a long gap in the flow of processes in the supply chain is a critical disruption of the supply chain. According to the concept of business continuity management a crisis is described as "any unplanned event that can cause deaths or significant injuries to empioyees, customers or the public or that can shut down your... 

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