There are quite a few links in a typical, literal chain aren’t there? Similarly, in a supply chain, several suppliers, manufacturers and retailers form these links that must be traversed before products get to their customers. All aspects of the system must work smoothly to enable products to be delivered and profits to be maximised. Supply Chain Management systems usually help in this aspect.
For example…
Take Amazon’s smooth supply chain system. The moment an order is placed, a worker in the warehouse gets notification of it and so begins the process of identifying the product, matching to its order and distributing the product to its rightful owner. Several innovative features like the ‘Dash’ feature, that allows customers to order household supplies at the touch of a button further improve the supply chain process as data gathered about them reveal the item’s popularity and can predict when demand for them will rise and fall, in turn refining their supply chain further.