Rodney Halpern works in the marketing department of a major manufacturing firm. Much of his job involves managing the movement of materials, parts, and information from suppliers to his firm. He tries to coordinate these flows with his firm's factory processes and assists with the efficient movement of finished goods tofinal consumers. These activities suggest that Rodney's job responsibilities focus on: A)wholesaling. B)multilevel marketing. C)assembly processing. D)supply chain management

Supply Chain Management is defined as the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It speaks to the active streamlining of a business's supply-side activities to maximize customer value and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. That is, a supply chain manager watchfully monitors, organises the supply (inflow and outflow) of goods and services so that cost is minimized thereby providing the company increased bottom line and hence a greater advantage.

SCM represents an effort by suppliers to develop and implement supply chains that are as efficient and economical as possible. Supply chains answers the question of how everything, from production to product development to the information systems needed to direct these undertakings is taken care of.

Why is Supply Chain Management important?

A well managed supply chain creates increased customer satisfaction and makes room for increased competitiveness.

Organizations increasingly find that they must rely on effective supply chains, or networks, to compete in the global market and networked economy.[20] In Peter Drucker's (1998) new management paradigms, this concept of business relationships extends beyond traditional enterprise boundaries and seeks to organize entire business processes throughout a value chain of multiple companies.

In recent times, globalization, outsourcing, and information technology have enabled many global entities, such as Dell and Hewlett Packard, to successfully operate collaborative supply networks in which each specialized business partner focuses on only a few key strategic activities.

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