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Warehouse SCM Systems
In any Supply Chain, Inventory Management and Warehousing form a part of operations intensive function and is one of the key building blocks in the entire chain. Most of the inventory is held at the warehouses as compared to the pipeline, and the efficiency of the warehouse operations will determine the further supply chain efficiency. Though it is a normal industry practice now to outsource the warehousing operations to a 3PL Logistics service provider, the SCM managers who are the decision makers and network owners would need to know the intricacies of warehouse operations and get actively involved in choosing the right partner and right facility.
Supply Chain Management is concerned not only with the flow of raw materials and finished goods, but scope extends beyond this to include reverse flow of unsold finished goods, parts and packaging materials from the point of consumption at customer’s end back to the organization or to rework / refurbishing vendors. Today reverse logistics has been adapted in a big way by automotive after market spare parts field as well as electronics and computer hardware markets. Retail and book publishing too have implemented reverse logistics schemes but the volumes that are returned are relatively lesser than the other fields.
When you buy any Computer or Electronics Hardware or equipment, normally one of the questions asked to the sales person is “What is the Service Support” provided by the company. Today the brand image or market demand rides not only the quality of the product but on the quality of service support too. Service support is critical in industries like Computers, Telecom, Aero spares etc. In all cases the response time and availability of the spares become critical. In all cases corporate installations demanding onsite support coupled with critical down time service level measurements have pushed the suppliers to set up an efficient spare parts supply chain.
Buying a Desktop computer for your home or a Laptop for your use is very easy. You browse through the internet to see the latest models and configurations, decide on your specific requirement and click to place an order. At times of course you might go into an electronic supermarket and check out the physical product before you buy. Immediately on payment you cannot wait for the delivery and expect to be serviced on priority. Ever wondered how companies like HP, Dell, and IBM manage to place just the right products in all point of sale not only in your city, but all over your country, all over the world where the product availability and standard processes are made available? If u start thinking back on where the products came in from?
The flow of goods flows through a network of transportation by road, rail, air or ship and intermediary warehouses to hold inventories before moving to the forward locations. The entire activity involves multi tier suppliers, agents and agencies including freight forwarders, packers, customs department, distributors and Logistics service providers etc. Logistics therefore is an integral component of Supply chain Management.
