We live in a world surrounded by technologies and competition. Consequently, organisations today are realising the significance of an effective supply chain strategy, which is why they are on the lookout for professionals who fully understand the domain ranging from the impact of the supply chain, its stages, and best practices.
- Do you want to be that professional?
- Do you want to be in-demand and on the radar of every organisation investing in supply chain management?
- Do you know about the different stages associated with supply chain management?
If so, consider enrolling in an accredited supply chain certification or continue reading to learn more about the stages of supply chain management.
What are the 5 stages of the supply chain?
Stage 1: Plan, Plan, Plan
Now, planning is a broad activity that entails a lot of activities. So, before getting started, you must decide on an operations strategy.
Operations strategy may include whether you want to manufacture the product in-house or purchase it from an outsourced supplier? This is a major decision on which your entire supply chain model will be based. So choose carefully.
Your options related to operations strategy include:-
- Manufacturing product domestically
- Manufacturing product internationally by setting up production facilities abroad
- Buying product from a domestic supplier
- Buying a product from an international supplier
If your organisation is manufacturing products, they must decide how they will be produced — whether they will be made to stock, made to order, partially manufactured in-house or completely received from an outsourced provider, etc.
Some products can be a combination of these methods. Anyhow, this operations planning is essential because it will directly influence your supply chain. After you’ve landed on an operations strategy, it’s time to plan.
It involves:-
- Mapping out the entire network of manufacturing facilities and warehouses
- Determining the level of production
- Specifying transportation and warehousing flows between sites
- Assessing how to enhance the global supply chain and its management processes.
If you aim to learn about the best practices of supply chain management, or gain in-depth knowledge about basic concepts, consider enrolling for an online supply chain certification.
Moving onto the next stage of supply chain management…
Stage 2: Sourcing
Careful Sourcing is the Way to a Healthy Supply Chain
Once you have developed an operations strategy, you need to organise the procurement of raw materials and components.
You need to select and bet sources, negotiate contracts and schedule deliveries. Furthermore, during this stage, you’ll also be required to assess and pay the suppliers. And if your company is working with a diverse network of suppliers, you’ll need to manage inventory, keep track of company assets, and ensure export and import requirements are met.
A supply chain certification is an ideal resource to gain this knowledge. The IIMK supply chain management online certification is one such course offering up-to-date knowledge about the supply chain. By enrolling in this online course, you can learn about the best practices of the supply chain, the impact of GST on supply chain and logistics, how to formulate global supply chains strategies, basically, anything from a pin to the plane of the domain.
Stage 3: Manufacturing
After you’ve acquired the raw material, it’s time to decide on the manufacturing of the product. This decision depends upon the demand for the product, technologies or machinery required to manufacture, and other important factors.
Simply put, this stage of supply chain management includes the following activities:-
- Scheduling of production activities
- Testing of products
- Packing and release
You must also manage the rules for performance and quality check along with facility and regulatory compliance. To learn in-depth about setting up a manufacturing process and running a production line from start to finish, consider enrolling for an online supply chain certification.
The bright side is that a graduation or diploma degree, along with a credible certification, all the only qualification requirements you need to fulfil to enter the supply chain management domain. On the other hand, if you are already experienced and are looking to advance your knowledge, the IIMK supply chain management online course can be the ideal choice.
Stage 4: Delivery & Distribution
The delivery stage entails everything ranging from processing customer orders to selecting distribution strategies and transportation/logistics options. You must also manage warehouse and inventory or pay a service provider to manage these tasks for you. You can also choose to leverage inventory management software to stay on top of your stocks.
The delivery stage also includes a trial or warranty period wherein customers can return their products if unsatisfied. In this case, you’ll also be expected to manage the return invoices, and payments received, which brings us to the last stage of supply chain management…
Stage 5: Return
As the name suggests, returns are associated with managing returns of defective products, including a quality check of the product, authorising returns, scheduling product shipments, replacing defective products, and providing refunds.
In order to stay abreast of your returns and refunds, you must establish clear rules for product returns, monitoring performance & costs, and managing inventory of the refunded products.
The IIMK supply chain management online course aims to help you gain exposure to all the stages of supply chain management. So if you strive to gain hands-on practical experience and theoretical knowledge of the domain, consider enrolling for this course offered on the Talentedge platform.
What Now?
To thrive in the world of supply chain management, you need to grow your capabilities in collaboration, communication, and leadership and pair these skills with in-depth technical knowledge to become a powerful supply chain professional.
You can gain the requisite skills and technical acumen by enrolling for an online supply chain certification.
One such online certification course you can rely on is the IIMK supply chain management online program. Offered in collaboration with Talentedge, this course can provide exposure to every facet of supply chain management ranging from forecasting, data analytics to supplier relationship management, etc.
So what are you waiting for? Career progression is just a sign-up away; scout the Talentedge website for the IIMK supply chain management online course and enrol yourself TODAY!
More Information:
Best Jobs in Supply Chain Management
The Future of Supply Chain Management
How Supply Chain Management helps in Business?
What is the Main Goal of Supply Chain Management?
