1) Supply Chain
The supply chain consists of the physical and communication paths connecting multiple, interrelated businesses. Material, goods, products and information flow through these paths from their points of origin or source (often viewed as beginning with raw material) to the final end consumer. This flow is sometimes extended to include the eventual disposal, recycling or return of goods. See also, Supply Chain Management, Logistics , Material Handling, and Third Party Logistics. Note that all of referenced terms are highly interrelated and their definitions are frequently intermingled.
2) Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain Management is the integration and coordinated execution of all the business processes used to plan and execute the flow of material, goods, products and related information between the many sources and points of use throughout the supply chain in order to achieve the best overall, system wide performance in terms of total cost, on-time (just-in-time) delivery and minimum in-process inventories across the network of suppliers, factories and trading partners that comprise the supply chain. See also, Supply Chain, Logistics, Material Handling, and Third Party Logistics. Note that all of referenced terms are highly interrelated and their definitions are frequently intermingled.
3) Supply Chain Execution Systems & Technologies (SCE) Industry Group
The Supply Chain Execution Systems & Technologies Group members are the Industry’s leading suppliers of Supply Chain Execution software, hardware and services. They supply solutions worldwide and in virtually every major manufacturing and distribution sector. Supply chain execution solutions streamline the tracking and flow of inventory and information from the original source through consumption. Solutions include automatic identification hardware and software as well as software solutions including manufacturing execution, logistics execution, order management, warehouse management, inventory management, transportation management, enterprise resource planning, and workforce management.
4) Third Party Logistics
Third Party Logistics, or 3PL is a business arrangement whereby logistics services, often including warehousing, are contracted to an independent business that specializes in such services and is not connected through direct ownership to the producer or factory requiring the service. See also, Supply Chain, Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Material Handling. Note that all of referenced terms are highly interrelated and their definitions are frequently intermingled.