Definition and Importance of Supply Chains (Research Paper Sample)

Supply Chain Performance
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Supply Chain Performance
* Definition and importance of supply chains
The supply chain is one of the most important parts of any organization. The supply chain entails all of the processes involved when goods or services are moved from their source to the hands of the end user (Beamon, 1999; George & Pillai, 2019). It involves all the processes which the organization needs in order to convert raw materials or other forms of input into finished products as in the case of traditional manufacturing organizations. It is the procurement team which interacts with suppliers in the upstream levels of the supply chain to make purchases of raw materials, component parts, or services before they are brought to the core company (Beamon, 1999; George & Pillai, 2019). The operations management department is then tasked with the conversion of these raw materials, component parts, or services into a tangible product or service that is desired by the end user. The marketing teams then bring products and services to the market where they are then purchased for use by consumers. For example, raw materials such as timber obtained from upstream sources may be moved along the supply chain to the core company where they are then processed into finished goods such as furniture. It is the finished product – furniture – which is then moved into the hands of consumers (at the downstream levels) for ultimate usage. For this reason, the supply chain has grown to be associated with the logistics pertaining to movement of services and products throughout the organizational continuum (George & Pillai, 2019). However, research is increasingly acknowledging that supply chains have more involved than the mere transportation / exchange of products and services.