We use the phrase… Supply Chain… quite often. It’s time to take a close look and see exactly what a supply chain is. How many links are there in this chain, and what are those links. We’re curious since a fulfillment service is considered a link of the chain. Is it one link, or could it be more than one? Let’s look and see.
As usual, we went to AI to tell us what it says a supply chain is. “A supply chain is the entire network of individuals, organizations, resources, activities, and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product, spanning from the sourcing of raw materials to the final delivery to the consumer. It covers sourcing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, and distribution, with the goal of maximizing customer value and reducing costs.”
Okay… that chain has quite a few links so this could be interesting.
The Chain’s Links
The explanation continues as follows: “Supply chains generally involve five main steps: planning (forecasting demand), sourcing (procurement), making (manufacturing), delivering (logistics), and returning (customer service/returns).” Apparently, AI decided to skip past the warehousing, storage, picking and packing that comes between manufacturing and delivery.
The next paragraph gets interesting. It points to “steps” in the chain. “Product Flow: The movement of goods from supplier to consumer, including manufacturing, storage, and transport. Information Flow: The exchange of data such as demand forecasts, order status, and purchase orders. Finances Flow: The movement of money, including payments, credit terms, and invoicing.”
The Chain’s Flow
We found even more interesting information about what the truly functional supply chain provides for the people who use it: “Efficiency: An optimized supply chain reduces production costs and speeds up delivery cycles. Customer Satisfaction: It ensures products are available when and where needed. Competitive Advantage: Effective management helps businesses avoid risks and maintain profitability.”
Let’s pick a product and follow the chain. Mother’s Day is coming up soon and Mom has her heart set on a gorgeous silk blouse she saw online. We’ll follow the blouse along the supply chain from its start to your Mom’s hands. Raw silk is obtained by harvesting silkworm cocoons and reeling the long, continuous filament, and most silk fabric is created in China, so this is where Mom’s blouse begins.
The next link in the chain would be the company that purchases the silk fabric and creates the blouse. There would be some paperwork and money involved in this link, and in all the links to follow. Let’s say that this manufacturer creates and offers 20 different silk blouses to companies that sell clothing online. The manufacturer ships hundreds of their blouses to a fulfillment service where the blouses are warehoused and packaged for shipping when the online orders come in.
The fulfillment service receives the order, packages the blouse and ships the package to your Mom. And there we have it… product flow, information flow, and finances flow, ending in efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability. If your Mom is dissatisfied and she wants to return the blouse, the fulfillment service can be that link in the chain too.
A supply chain is a network that connects various companies and individuals in the process of creating and delivering a product to consumers, starting with raw materials and ending with order fulfillment, and there we have it.
AMS Fulfillment is a LINK
AMS serves as a link in a whole lot of supply chains. And for some valued clients we do more than warehouse and pick, pack and ship. AMS provides customer service for those who need it, and we provide returns management as well. There are also value-added services, which can be something as simple as putting your Mom’s silk blouse on a nice hanger before shipping it. AMS is often referred to as a 3PL, which means third-party logistics company. Let’s conclude with a look at supply chain management and logistics [LINK].
“The terms supply chain management (SCM) and business logistics management or simply logistics are often used interchangeably but logistics is one link in the supply chain. Logistics deals with the planning and control of the movement and storage of goods and services from their point of origin to their final destination. Good logistics management prevents delivery delays and ensures products arrive in good condition, helping to lower costs.”
Okay, we should now have a better idea of what a supply chain is, and the role of a fulfillment service as a link in the chain. Now let’s hope Mom’s silk blouse travels safely through all of the chain links and arrives right on time and in excellent condition.
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Please feel free to visit amsfulfillment.com and learn more about us. We’ve been doing eCommerce fulfillment for more than twenty years and we are a highly respected third-party fulfillment service (3PL) with many satisfied and successful clients.
