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Supply chain management since the dawn of production, trade, buying, and selling, where industry and production before the Industrial Revolution relied on the human element to carry out tasks. Thus, a single craftsman or a group of craftsmen would use all their skills, capabilities, and available equipment to produce each part of the product independently, then assemble the separate parts in the end to obtain the final product, and then move on to the testing and modification phase so that the parts fit together harmoniously. Later, supply chain management systems became more advanced and efficient, which positively affected production and the delivery of goods and services. Among these changes was the revolutionary shift made by Henry Ford by standardizing car parts, which is one of his contributions to improving supply chain processes; he facilitated the manufacturing process by reducing lead time and increasing productivity and quality while lowering costs by improving workflow. He also had contributions to applying the principle of "production on demand," which in turn improved inventory and cost management. And you should also know how to price products.

Concept of Supply Chain

It is a connected network of individuals, organizations, resources, activities, and technologies contributing to the manufacture, sale, and pricing of the product or service. The supply chain starts with delivery of raw materials from the supplier to the manufacturer, and ends with the delivery of the finished product or service to the final consumer. Due to the importance of these procedures and systems, organizations are keen to develop supply chains periodically to control costs and remain competitive in their field.

Concept of Supply Chain Management | SCM

Quoting management concepts from Harvard Business Review, supply chain management "is the one concerned with the flow of goods and services to deliver value to the ultimate consumer effectively, in addition to improving its delivery process, and that includes managing raw materials, production, inventory, logistics, and distribution to the final consumer."

Supply chain management can also be defined according to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) as the "planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies."

Supply chain management is a vital part of most businesses, and naturally affects the success of companies due to its profound impact on improving production processes, communicating with suppliers, and managing inventory, in addition to its role in enhancing customer service, all of this in order to achieve the common goal among all parties; which is to deliver products to consumers with high efficiency and optimal quality.

The role of supply chain management more precisely lies in enhancing the brand; by improving its mental image, raising its profits, and upgrading its competitive value, and this includes:

• The ability to predict and meet customer needs and market requirements.

• Risk management.

• Increasing sustainability.

• Improving service delivery quality and financial flow.

• Improving the efficiency of logistics services provided.

The Customer and Supply Chain Systems

The customer plays a primary role in setting the priorities of supply chain management SCM systems, because their overall experience relates to its operations, mechanisms, and systems. Thus, it is not only about reducing costs and raising efficiency, but primarily about the level of customer satisfaction, as customer loyalty depends on the company's ability to meet their expectations rapidly, accurately, and with high quality that matches their expectations.  In addition, coordination must be made between all components of supply chains, which include (raw materials, industries, logistics services, commercial operations, and order management) to provide a final product to the customer within a convincing and satisfactory period of time. To achieve this, it is useful to provide the expected service by looking through the customer's eyes. Ultimately, it is not just about delivering the order to the customer on time, but about delivering everything at the right time - before, during, and after delivering the order.

Elements of Supply Chain Management

The supply chain management process consists of 5 main elements, which are as follows:

1. Strategic Planner

Building a strategy is an extremely important step that precedes all stages of management and facilitates meeting requirements efficiently and measuring results to develop performance. A large part of planning for supply chain management is developing supply monitoring metrics to become more effective, cost-efficient, high-quality, and provide additional value that meets customer needs. Methods of marketing products

2. Sourcing (Supplier)

The product innovation process requires contacting the necessary suppliers to execute it as desired. This, in turn, requires continuous development of pricing, negotiation, delivery, and payment processes, and consequently, establishing monitoring metrics to facilitate continuous improvement with high efficiency. After that, SCM managers work on assembling processes to manage their inventory of goods and services, including receiving and verifying shipments, and transferring them to manufacturing and production facilities.

3. Manufacturing

Supply chain managers schedule the activities necessary for production, testing, packaging, and preparation for delivery. The measurement phase is one of the most vital phases in supply chains, and the quality of outputs—services and products—is greatly affected by it; thus, the control metrics in it are more intensive than others in supply chain management, as it is the stage where companies can measure quality levels in the final output in addition to efficiency and labor productivity.

4. Delivery

This is the phrase known among those interested in supply chain management as logistics; where companies coordinate receiving orders from customers, develop a network of warehouses, choose carriers to deliver products to customers, and establish a billing system to receive payments.

5. Return (Refunds)

Supply chain planners must establish a responsive and flexible network to receive defective or surplus products from their customers, and support customers who have problems with the received products.

Supply Chains and Their Need for Flexibility

Consumers today have multiple options in terms of how they buy products, whether in stores, online, or otherwise. Consumers also expect increased levels of customization. Therefore, the flexibility of supply chains can meet these expectations and more. Flexibility is not only related to the customer, but it also covers dealing with environmental, political, and economic conditions, and dealing with suppliers in particular, especially regarding raw materials. If you have a source of aluminum that is exposed to emergency reasons details of import ban due to certain international trade policies under specific circumstances, you must be prepared by providing other sources to cover your needs. The ability to reconfigure your supply chains urgently and accurately is essential to handle this kind of scenario successfully. Flexibility is crucial to achieve these types of real-time reconfigurations to mitigate all impacts resulting from any emergency challenges that occur in supply chains, including varying and changing regulatory requirements. An intelligent supply chain management system helps increase efficiency and lower costs while maintaining compliance with a variety of constantly changing legal mandates.The concept of brand identity and 7 characteristics of your brand identity

Be Prepared for Emergency Scenarios:

Supply chain management faces many challenges, and among these challenges are:

1. Complexity of the Logistics Network: Supply chains are likely to involve many parties, which increases the complexity of the logistical process and makes it difficult to manage efficiently.

2. Instability in Demand: Demand for products may change suddenly, leading to difficulty in planning for production and providing the necessary materials.

3. Geopolitical and Trade Challenges: Companies may face difficulties in dealing with trade restrictions imposed by governments, and geopolitical challenges such as wars and conflicts.

4. Information Technology: Technical challenges are likely to be faced in dealing with complex information systems that require high technical skills.

5. Reliance on Core Suppliers: Complete reliance on core suppliers is a risk zone that companies commonly pass through at the beginning of their journey, and its danger lies in the event of any problem arising in providing the necessary materials, where supply chains will be harmed.

6. Quality Problems: Products may face quality issues, leading to delays in delivery which results in financial losses and increased costs, which indeed companies do not want.

7. Price Fluctuations: Changes in prices for raw materials, fuel, transportation, and others are very common, resulting in an increase in costs, which affects profitability.

8. Logistical Crises which include: 

• Natural Disasters: such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and extreme weather events that may lead to delays in delivery and stopping production.

• Changes in Laws and Regulations: Local and international laws and regulations must be complied with, and companies may face challenges in complying with specific laws and regulations.

• Customs Challenges: Companies may face challenges in complying with customs laws and regulations, especially in international trade.

• Political Challenges: Companies may face challenges in supply chains due to political and economic changes in the countries where they operate, and this includes challenges related to international trade, customs procedures, and local legislation.

1. Financial Challenges: such as tightening credit, currency conversions, and tax challenges.

2. Language and Cultural Challenges: such as difficulty in communication and coordination between all the different parties.

3. Security Challenges: including challenges related to theft, forgery, incitement, espionage, terrorism, and others.

4. Health Challenges: such as what happened with the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in damage at various levels that reached supply chains.

Such challenges require preparation in advance by developing flexible plans to avoid losses and handle emergency situations effectively, and it is important to know the basics of product marketing methods.

The Future of Supply Chain Management

We mentioned before that (the customer) is a priority in supply chain management, and therefore all its operations center around speed of response and customer experience, in terms of understanding and managing both of them. Based on this, the future of supply chain management lies in managing operations technically instead of using linear models. Therefore, the technology used must be flexible and tailored to the consumer's needs with the ability to also handle changing factors, such as sourcing, trade policies, shipping patterns, and more.

Advanced technology will be increasingly used in the future to improve transparency, further enable communication, and leverage supply chain management systems. The entire planning function in supply chain management systems will become smarter to take consumer demands into account, and adaptability will be essential as the need for speed and accuracy in supply chain management systems increases. So be prepared, and be aware of how to set elements of a marketing plan for your e-store.