TABLE OF CONTENTS Hartmut Stadtler
Darmstadt University of Technology, Department of Production & Supply Chain Management, Hochschulstra e 1, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
What is the essence of Supply Chain Management (SCM)? How does it relate to Advanced Planning? In which sense are the underlying planning concepts "advanced"? What are the origins of SCM? These as well as related questions will be answered in this chapter.
During the nineties several authors tried to put the essence of SCM into a single definition. Its constituents are
the object of the management philosophy,
the target group,
the objective(s) and
the broad means for achieving these objectives.
The object of SCM obviously is the supply chain which represents a " network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate consumer" (Christopher, 1998, p. 15). In a broad sense a supply chain consists of two or more legally separated organizations, being linked by material, information and financial flows. These organizations may be firms producing parts, components and end products, logistic service providers and even the (ultimate) customer himself. So, the above definition of a supply chain also incorporates the target group the ultimate customer.
As Fig. 1.1 shows, a network usually will not...
