What is supply chain management?

At some point in your life, you will have experienced first hand the importance of logistics and supply chain management. Waiting for spare parts for your TV or car, or having to place an order for a new CD or the right sized shirt are all examples of logistics in action. The item you want must travel from the manufacturer to you but there are quite a few steps involved in between.

Logistics, put simply, is the act of getting the right things to the right place at the right time.

This can be locally or globally, involve procurement, manufacture, storage and selection from warehouses, different modes of transport, waste disposal and IT systems to know where everything is and where it is going.

A supply chain is the sequence of events that is involved in getting the goods from one place to their final destination.