美国留学生供应链管理专业论文DEFINING SUPPLYCHAIN MANAGEMENT
byohn T. Mentzer
The University of Tennessee
William DeWitt
The University of Maryland
James S. Keebler
St. Cloud State University
Soonhong Min
Georgia Southern University
Nancy W. Nix
Texas Christian University
Carlo D. Smith
The University of San Diego
and
Zach G. Zacharia
Texas Christian University
“Management is on the verge of a major breakthrough in understanding how industrialcompany success depends on theinteractions between the flows of information, materials,money, manpower, and capital equipment. The way these five flow systems interlockto amplify one another and to cause change and fluctuation will form the basis for anticipatingthe effects of decisions, policies, organizational forms, and investment choices.” (Forrester1958, p. 37)
Forrester introduced a theory of distribution management that recognized the integrated natureof organizational relationships. Because organizations are so intertwined, he argued that system dynamicscan influence the performance of
He illustrated this phenomena utilizing a computer simulation of order information flow and its influenceon production and distribution performance for each supply chain member, as well as theentire supply chain system. More recent replications of this phenomenon include the “Beer Game”simulation and research covering the “Bullwhip Effect” (Lee, Padmanabhan, and Whang 1997).
Discussing the shape of the future, Forrester (1958, p. 52) proposed that after a period ofresearch and development involving basic analytic techniques, “there will come general recognitionof the advantage enjoyed by the pioneering management who have been the first to improve their understandingof the interrelationships between separate company functions and between the company and
its markets, its industry, and the national economy.” Though his article is more than forty years old,it appears that Forrester identified key management issues and illustrated the dynamics of factors
associated with the phenomenon referred to in contemporary business literature as Supply ChainManagement (SCM).
The term supply chain management has risen to prominence over the past ten years (Cooper etal. 1997). For example, at the 1995 Annual Conference of the Council of Logistics Management, 13.5%of the concurrent session titles contained the words “supply chain.” At the 1997 conference, just twoyears later, the number of sessions containing the term rose to 22.4%. Moreover, the term is frequentlyused to describe executive responsibilities in corporations (La Londe 1997). SCM has become sucha “hot topic” that it is difficult to pick up a periodical on manufacturing, distribution, marketing,customer management, or transportation without seeing an article about SCM or SCM-related topics(Ross 1998). |
