Process Views of a Supply Chain

A supply chain is a sequence of processes and flows that take place within and between different stages and combine to fill a customer need for a product There are two ways to view the processes performed in a supply chain. 

CycU View The processes in a supply chain are divided into a series of cycles, each performed at the interface between two successive stages of the supply chain. 

Each cycle occurs at the interface between two successive stages of the supply chain. Not every supply chain will have all four cycles clearly separated. For example, a grocery supply chain in which a retailer stocks finished-goods inventories and places replenishment orders with a distributor is likely to have all four cycles separated. Dell, in contrast, bypasses the retailer and distributor when it sells servers directly to customers. 

Each cycle consists of six subprocesses, as shown in Eigure 1-4. Each cycle starts with the supplier marketing the product to customers. A buyer then places an order that is received by 

---