What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)? (Video)

Supply Chain Management

What is Supply Chain Management?

The term was coined over 35 years ago but still to this day there are a large number of different definitions of SCM.

To someone who is starting out their career, or who is new to the field of Supply Chain, it is understandable that there may be confusion as to the definition of SCM.

But the reality is that there are many expert individuals and organizations who define Supply Chain differently. Are they really that different or are there just subtle nuances in what some people consider SCM that others do not?

Watch our video to learn more about how people define Supply Chain Management!

While to some understanding the definition of Supply Chain may sound very basic, to many people this is a real point of contention requiring clarity, if not elimination of confusion.

Our most popular blog article of all time on Supply Chain Game Changer was the article What Exactly is Supply Chain Management? 10 Different Definitions! This showed us that there is a great desire to understand, consider, and even debate what exactly is the definition of Supply Chain Management.

We have not endeavoured to try to either select or create the one single best overall definition. There may be no such thing. Depending on what you are doing and what your perspective is there may be valid different meanings. It is analogous too looking at an object from different vantage points; whoever the observers of that object are may provide very different descriptions of the exact same object.

So here we present a short video of many varying definitions of Supply Chain Management. Some of the definitions are close or contain similar elements. Others include rather different descriptors.

In the end we want you to make up your own mind, even if that means coming up with your own definition.

Enjoy our video and tell us what definition, whether one of these or one of your own, best describes the exciting field of Supply Chain Management!

So what do you think? Do you like one of the definitions we have discussed here? Do you like bits and pieces of different definitions? Or do you have another definition you believe is better than them all?

Let us know!

If you’d like to read about more of these definitions, such as that offered by aims.education, check out our article on 10 Different SCM Definitions.

Originally published on January 29, 2019.