Supply Structure

 Supply structures are connected nodes of sub-parts of organisations involved in the procurement of resources, their operational transformation and distribution as goods and services. Supply nodes are connected by supply flows and processes. Supply chain managers control resources or assets including buildings, equipment, people involved in supply, materials and services transformed into goods and services, social capital accruing from supply, finance and information for supply and supply knowledge and expertise. All supply nodes exist in their own unique supply structures and have unique vantage points from which they observe and engage with their supply structures upstream and downstream. Supply structures are at multiple systems levels of the internal supply chain, the supply dyad, supply triad, supply base, supply chain, supply network, supply system and supply market. The larger the unit of analysis of supply structure, the less empirical research has been conducted, so our understanding of them is less.