Inventories include raw material inventory, work-in process inventory and finished goods inventory. The goal of effective inventory management is to minimize the total costs - direct and indirect - that are associated with holding inventories. However, the importance of inventory management to the company depends upon the extent of investment in inventory. It is industry-specific. In the case of a manufacturing company of reasonable size the number of items of inventory runs into hundreds, if not more. From the point of view of monitoring information for inventory control, it becomes extremely difficult to consider each one of these items. The ABC analysis comes in quite handy and enables the management to concentrate attention and keep a close watch on a relatively less number of items which account for a high percentage of the value of annual usage of all items of inventory. A firm using the ABC system segregates its inventory into three groups - A, B and C. The A items are those in which it has the largest dollar investment. A group consists about 10 percent of the inventory items that account approximately for 70 percent of the firm's dollar investment. These are the most ...

Firms in the past have mainly focused on improving the material flow in a supply chain using various innovative methods like cross docking, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) etc. Firms have also used IT solutions to automate the material flow. Today, they have also begun to focus on improving the financial flow in the supply chain. Many firms have adopted best practices of cash flow management to improve the financial flow. One of the key elements which helps in efficient financial flow in a supply chain is the use of IT solutions in the purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash processes. By automating these processes firms can minimize inefficiencies and improve the effectiveness of the supply chain.Many firms have automated the same or all of the elements of the financial flow in a supply chain through implementing ERP systems and cash flow management solutions. However, most firms have not focused much on integrating the material and the financial flow in a supply chain. By integrating material and financial flows, firms can remove the inefficiencies in the supply chain. Integration of these two flows can be done in three ...

Order-to-cash process consists of financial transactions with the customers in a supply chain. Order-to-cash process starts with the customer placing the order and ends with receiving the payment from the customer. The steps involved in the order-to-cash process are explained below. The order is placed by the customer directly through phone, fax, or the internet. Then, the inventory is checked for the availability of the product in the quantity required by the customer. The firm then checks the customer credit status to decide whether or not to extend credit to the customer. For this, the customer's credit limit and the status of receivables from the customer are checked. If the customer has placed the order within the credit limits and has nil or permissible receivables, then the product can be delivered to the customer. If not, the firm has to evaluate whether to fulfill the order or to reject it or put it on hold. If it is a new customer, the firm has to establish a new credit line for the customer. If the customer is an existing one and has high credit risk, then the order may be rejected. If the order is placed by an existing customer having low credit risk, then the order ...

Purchase-to-pay process consists of financial transactions with the suppliers in a supply chain. Purchase-to-pay process starts with the buyer making the requisition and ends with the payment to the supplier. The buyer makes a purchase requisition and it is passed on to the purchasing department for approval. After getting the approval of the purchasing manager, a purchase order is sent to the supplier. On receiving the purchase order the supplier dispatches the shipment along with the invoice. On receiving the goods, the firm checks the shipment and the invoice to confirm whether the shipment matches the purchase order and the product quality/quantity is as desired. Upon confirmation, the accounts department pays the supplier. Some of the measures to improve efficiency of purchasing transactions are discussed below. Focus on reducing processing time and costs There are various ways of reducing processing time and costs in order to expedite the purchasing process. Firms should allow the buyers (an employee who is involved in purchase activities) to order goods, up to a certain permissible limit, without approval. This reduces the time and costs involved in routing and ...

A supply chain is a network of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, transporters, storage facilities and retailers that perform functions like procurement and acquisition of material, processing and transformation of the material into intermediate and finished tangible goods, and finally, the physical distribution of the finished goods to intermediate or final customers. Components of Supply Chain A supply chain may consist of variety of components depending on the business model selected by a firm. A typical supply chain consists of the following components: Customers: The customer forms the focus of any supply chain. A customer activates the processes in a supply chain by placing an order with the retailer. The customer order is filled by the retailer, either form the existing inventories, or by placing a fresh order with the wholesaler/manufacturer. In some cases a customer bypasses all these supply chain components by getting in touch with the manufacturers directly. For example in the case of an online purchase of a computer from Dell Computers, the customer places an order directly with the manufacturer. Retailers/Distributors: The retailer acts as a link ...

Although there are many views of supply chain management (SCM), at present, many practitioners look upon SCM as the management of key business processes across the network of organizations that form the supply chain. A supply chain is a network of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, transporters, storage facilities and retailers that perform functions like procurement and acquisition of material, processing and transformation of the material into intermediate and finished tangible goods, and finally, the physical distribution of the finished goods to intermediate or final customers. According to the definition given by the Global Supply Chain Forum, supply chain management is the integration of key business processes from end-user,to original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders. There are eight business processes that are carried out across the supply chain. They are: Customer Relationship Management: Customer relationship management involves establishing a framework for building and maintaining relationships with customers. This involves identifying  the customer-groups who form the target for ...