Question:

What is a supply chain?

In the manufacturing industry, you may hear inventory, operations, or supply chain management professionals refer to what is known as the “supply chain.” This concept encompasses every action, object, location, relationship, business, function, tool or technology necessary in the process of creating, packaging, and marketing a product.

For example, imagine you own an airplane manufacturing company. In order to create your airplanes, you will need to know everything about where parts come from, how many to purchase, who is going to build your airplanes and even clean up warehouses in order to ensure production runs smoothly. You’ll have engineers, managers, quality assurance, graphic designers, writers, and marketers. They’re all part of the supply chain. Customers are, too.

A simple way of thinking about supply chain is that it is every element involved from pre-production right through to purchase and maintenance of a product. It’s a fairly large-scale idea, but it is important for ensuring that every need of a product’s lifecycle is met.

The global supply chain is a complex machine. Supply chain specialists can get specific degrees and certificates in supply chain management to further their careers.

For more information about supply chain management certifications and degrees go to the logistics certification main page.