SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: GENERAL REVIEW Supply-chain management plays a central role in the management of a company's value-chain. Essential to the effectiveness of a company's supply-chain management are the concepts and procedures associated with cycle-time reduction and just-in-time resource management (Sharland, Eltantawy, & Giunipero, 2003). This research presents a general review of supply-chain management that includes (a) its importance to a firm's management of its value-chain and (b) the contributions of cycle-time reduction and just-in-time resource management to effective supply-chain management.
Reviewing Supply-Chain Management, Its Importance in the Management of a Company's Value-Chain, and the
Contributions of Cycle-Time Reduction and
Just-in-Time Resource Management to Effective Supply-Chain Management
Waste, considered in the context of managing production operations, refers to any activity that detracts from the creation of value. In the current environment of global business operations, competitive advantages derive in large part from the integration and coordination of the various activities of the value chain. In such an environment, it is important to reduce total costs as well as design, production, and distribution times (Nichols, 2003).
The global environment in which business functions today requires achievement of high standards of performance in quality, timeliness, total costs, and customer service. To reach these levels of p