Keoni Buenavista
Date: 05/06/2022
Prompt: Describe the different aspects of the supply chain. What are its importances?
As a vital part of most countries in today’s society, the supply chain is a very important function. In order for individuals to purchase goods, the supply chain is utilized in most cases. The aspects that make the supply chain are producers, vendors, warehouses, transportation companies, retailers, and distribution. All of these parts that make up the supply chain have a specific purpose which helps to fulfill the demand by others for goods.
Producers are the first category in the supply chain and have the most important role. This role is actually making the goods to where they can either be distributed to consumers directly, manufactured into another type of good, or used in a certain type of service of some kind. An example of a producer would be a farm, which grows vegetables, and fruits, and/or raises animals. This producer makes the raw goods that are necessary to make other goods like food products which then go down the supply chain to reach the end consumer. Without this role in the supply chain, all of the other roles would be useless as they are all used in handling the goods that are made by producers.
The next category in the supply chain is vendors (or suppliers). Vendors are responsible for supplying distribution centers and/or manufacturers with the raw goods they need. These vendors need to be able to meet demand based on the materials and tools that they have. IF vendors are not able to meet demand, this can cause slowdowns in the supply chain and end with a much more expensive product for the end-user. Additionally, suppliers are often ranked in different categories because they serve different markets or demographics. Some of the suppliers tend to the needs of client businesses and others may be direct to consumers.
In relation to the next step in the supply chain, warehouses are another vital piece. Warehouses function as a server to customer markets; and use location-allocation, vehicle routing analysis, dynamic programming, and traditional logistics optimization to maximize the efficiency of distribution. Warehouses along with their logistics specialists make sure that the goods that are coming in to be stored or have been stored for some time, will go where they need to go when they are needed there. The process to do this takes complex planning of routes (for trucks) and taking into account other variables such as weather, vehicle efficiency, etc.
From the warehouses, the items that get to consumers or the companies that sell the products are transported by distribution centers and transportation companies. Both of these factors in the supply chain process work together synonymously to properly distribute a good among retailers or other companies, or direct to consumers. An example of this would be with shipping containers or truck drivers. In this example, with the planning done by warehouse logistics specialists, these individuals or groups need to be able to carry out the plans to remain on schedule and remain efficient with fuel, time, and other resources.
The last category in the supply chain is retailers. Retailers are responsible for the selling of the goods that were produced by manufacturers to the consumers. Along with this function, they also coordinate with distribution sellers and suppliers to get products that they need to sell, to meet consumer demand/ needs.