Developing the Concept of Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management (SCM) is a commonly used term in business and academia, but with many different meanings, representing different perspectives and varying spans of influence and interest. This chapter traces the development of materials planning and control, purchasing and supply relationships and logistics perspectives of supply chain management to today’s more strategic, holistic conceptualisation. Supply chain management is positioned here to be a multi-systems level, strategic endeavour, integrating strategic management thinking from operations management, logistics, purchasing and supply management and industrial marketing. At its core is the transformation of resources from original sources to supply goods and services to ultimate end users. The academic field of supply chain management would benefit from greater conceptual clarity to enhance legitimacy and cohesion required for it to become a recognised discipline.