With version 5.0 of the iSource Business Global Enabled Supply and Demand Chain complete, we can now look forward to crafting version 6.0. Each phase of our research draws us into a deeper understanding of what organizations across all industries are doing with their supply and demand chains and, to us, that's exciting!
Version 5.0 appeared in the February/March 2003 print issue of iSource Business and can also be found right here on iSourceonline.com.
If you are in the midst of — or even just considering — transforming your supply and demand chain, the Map can be your guide, too. From its inception more than two years ago, the Global Enabled Supply and Demand Chain Map has helped those who use it to focus on supply and demand chain management, as well as guide them as they enable their companyÕs specific supply and demand chain.
As an example of its success, for the second year running, the iSource Business Map will be used as a tool during one of the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) workshops at their conference in May of this year; Ralph G. Kauffman, Ph.D., C.P.M., ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee chair will use the map to augment his workshop presentation.
In addition, we constantly receive word from organizations that continue to use it as a road map as they enable specific areas of their supply and demand chain. Says one iSource reader, "Your map helps us stay focused and gives clarity to the complexity of supply chains."
So WhatÕs New?
In version 5.0, you will still find the eight Functional Links of the supply and demand chain: Order/Demand Capture, Sourcing, Procurement, Fulfillment, Logistics, Payment, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). These eight links, or "pies" as we like to call them, are the foundation of our model.
But in version 5.0 you will find that we have also added Forecasting, Order Management and Production Planning, and Deployment to the Fulfillment link. We also added Warehouse Management, Transportation Management, Order and Delivery Management, and Inventory Management to the Logistics link.
We also added information to the inner circle, showing that Lean Manufacturing, Materials Resource Planning (MRP), Just-in-Time and Just-in-Sequence Planning are core functions to the manufacturing process.
To review what is on the rest of the map, you will remember that the Functional Links represent Order/Demand Capture, Sourcing, Procurement, Fulfillment, Logistics, Payment, CRM and PLM (as stated above). The Technology Infrastructure part of the model, which is placed dead center and titled ÒSupply Chain Integration and Execution,Ó always shows core functional processes to supply and demand chain management, as well as the infrastructure that supports it. The Decision Support Circles, which represent Knowledge Management, Consulting, Collaboration and Business Process Management (BPM), are always the circles that surround the eight Functional Links.
Finally, we have the Enabling Tools, which are basically the subcategories within or influencing each functional link. They more directly represent the functionality that supply and demand chain professionals can and should expect from the software tools available in the market today. So, if youÕre looking at the CRM Functional Link, inside the pie you should see Content Management, Channel Management and Customer Analytics, and Reverse Logistics, all of which are enabling tools within CRM.
As we do more research on supply and demand chain management, weÕll make improvements to the Global Enabled Supply and Demand Chain Model. The key for us is to make it a useful tool for our readers and business partners. The dynamic world in which we live demands continuous learning; if we are committed to learning we ensure improvement as we apply what we learn.
Julie Murphree
Editor-in-Chief
iSource Business magazine
[email protected]
