Step 1.2 - Supply Chain Mapping

The first step in a supply chain audit is to map chain structure and ownership as well as associated flows of physical products and information (orders) between members of the supply chain. The role of a supply chain map is to get a picture of the overall supply process and where the particular retail store fits. It reminds the manager that the current supply sources may need to evolve as the product characteristics change. 

The mapping of the supply chain for a focal company is an important step in understanding the interrelationships that impact the success of the business. Several important points need to be kept in mind before proceeding with the mapping of the supply chain network ... 

The next step in process mapping is to imderstand how your business operates and how the different departments interact with each other. This needs to be understood before you can begin to examine how the supply chain works and how improvements can be made. A process map for a business... 

The next step in the process is to begin to develop the map of the supply chain for your organization. 

As outlined in Figure 6.1, for today s supply chain leaders, the definition of supply chain excellence is all over the map. As a result, an important first step for the leadership team is to make a strong statement and define it for the organization. It needs to be a deliberate statement to detail "what it is and what it is not." The task then is to build a guiding coalition to achieve it. Defining supply chain excellence is job number one for the executive team. 

The current process flow is analyzed to determine nonvalue added activities. Then, a second sub-group out of the nonvalue added group is selected by considering what if RFID was deployed. A thorough investigation of each step, along with interviews with experts and additional data collection, the RFID-enhanced value stream map is reduced to 18 steps, as opposed to 54, which represents 66.7% improvement in number of steps. Such an improvement not only makes the supply chain more reliable but also reduces the overall lead time drastically, which is estimated to be a reduction of 60%. 

For Vendor Managed inventory (VMI), the first step is to map current customer database to identify the group of potential customers to implement the VMI. Then, based on this list, commercial area together with supply chain should identify customers where actual POS information is readily available and could be shared on a daily basis with the company. Usually, potential customers for a successful VMI implementation are key account customers, like large retailers, airline companies, food chains, etc. One critical step in the VMI implementation... 

Mapping the processes forthe supply chain is proposed as the second step ofthe eSCM-1 procedure after standardization because companies have an overwhelming number of processes that require integration. The purpose of business process modeling is also to analyze processes, manage supply chain interdependencies, and define the functionality and behavior of supply chain pro-... 

For each operation in the supply chain, the map depicts lead-time. The heavy line shows the critical path. For Process, for example. Figure 28.7 and Table 28.4 show that material for Process is on the critical path and has a five-day lead-time. Internal operations at Process require another 30 days. So, the total lead-time at Process is 35 days. Likewise, Old Line requires 95 days of lead-time, with 35 accounted for by material from Process and 60 by internal processes. Material for Process is not on the critical path so the 35 days does not count toward lead-time. Notice one supply chain step (No. 7) at Process takes 45 days, which could indicate a supply chain bottleneck. 

The first step in achieving strategic fit between competitive and supply chain strategies is to understand customers and supply chain uncertainty. Uncertainty from the customer and the supply chain can be combined and mapped on the implied uncertainty spectrum. 

Understanding the specific context is important in all logistics and supply chain improvement work. Due to this, process mapping and development has become an important knowledge area within supply chain management. The specific supply chdn context should be described, wiA emphasis given to the areas that one wants to focus on, as defined in step one. The context may be described in many ways, but it is important to cover all relevant areas, as well as the relation between them. 

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