Evolution of Logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM)
The evolution of logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the 1990s can be traced back to “physical distribution management” in the 1970s when there was no coordination among the various functions of an organization, and each was committed to attain its own goal. This myopic approach then transformed into “integrated logistic management” in the 1980s that called for the integration of various functions to achieve a system-wide objective. Supply Chain Management (SCM) further widens this scope by including the suppliers and customers into the organizational fold, and coordinating the flow of materials and information from the procurement of raw materials to the consumption of finished goods. The objectives of Supply Chain Management (SCM) are to eliminate redundancies, and reduce cycle time and inventory so as to provide better customer service at lower cost. The focus has shifted from the “share of the market” paradigm to the “share of the Continue reading