Supply Chain Management Systems: Architecture, Design and Vision

A supply chain is a network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distribution centers and retailers, through which raw materials are acquired, transformed, produced and delivered to the customer. The supply chain consists all the activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods from the raw material stage, through to the end user, as well as the associated information flows. Supply Chain Management is a set of synchronized decision & activities, utilized to effectively integrate suppliers, manufacturers, transporters, warehouses, retailers & customers so that the right product or service is distributed at the right quantities, to the proper locations & at the appropriate time, in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying customer service level requirements. Information Technology application has brought enormous opportunities to supply chain management and making it grow at an even faster pace. Role of information is crucial & drives the entire supply chain system. For many companies, it has become clear that a supply chain that flows information and material effectively can be a significant differentiator, the competitive winner. Supply chain management system can be regarded as a type of distributed information management system, of which agent technology provides the ultimate in its development. This paper reviews the state of the art of conventional supply chain applications provided by top manufacturing software vendors. The paper reviews the implemented systems of supply chain management and presents the requirements for the next generation of supply chain management systems.