Unit 3
1. **Logistics Management** - **Avoiding Stockouts**: Keeping sufficient predictive maintenance, and route
stock to fulfill customer orders without delays. optimization.
Logistics management involves planning,
implementing, and controlling the movement - **Reducing Holding Costs**: Optimizing - **Big Data Analytics**: Analyzing large sets
and storage of goods, services, and information inventory levels to minimize storage and of data to identify patterns and trends, helping
within a supply chain. It ensures that products obsolescence costs. to make more informed supply chain decisions.
move smoothly from suppliers to
manufacturers, distributors, and ultimately, to - **Efficient Replenishment**: Setting reorder - **Internet of Things (IoT)**: Using
customers. Key objectives include: points to restock items before they run out. connected devices (such as GPS and sensors) to
track shipments, monitor storage conditions,
- **On-time Delivery**: Ensuring products - **Demand-Based Stocking**: Stocking up on and maintain inventory visibility in real-time.
reach customers when promised. high-demand items to ensure quick order
fulfillment. - **Blockchain**: Providing a secure,
- **Cost Efficiency**: Reducing transparent way to record supply chain
transportation, storage, and handling costs. Effective inventory management is crucial for transactions, ensuring authenticity and
customer service, as it ensures that customers traceability of products.
- **Quality Management**: Protecting receive their orders promptly, enhancing overall
products from damage during storage and satisfaction and brand loyalty. - **Cloud Computing**: Enabling supply chain
transit. partners to share and access information from
1. **Information and Communication any location, improving communication and
- **Flexibility**: Adapting quickly to Technology (ICT) in SCM** collaboration.
unexpected changes, such as demand surges or
supply disruptions. ICT in supply chain management (SCM) 1. **RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)**
facilitates the exchange of information between
2. **Integrated Logistics Management** supply chain partners. It enables real-time RFID uses radio waves to identify and track
tracking, enhances communication, and items throughout the supply chain. RFID tags
Integrated logistics management is a ensures visibility across the supply chain. Key are placed on products or packaging, and these
collaborative approach that coordinates all ICT components include: tags can be read by RFID scanners from a
logistics functions, such as transportation, distance. Key benefits include:
warehousing, inventory, and order processing, - **ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)**:
to optimize the entire supply chain. This Integrates information from various - **Automatic Tracking**: Allows products to
approach relies on: departments (like sales, inventory, and finance) be tracked without manual scanning.
into a single system for better coordination.
- Collaboration: Working closely with - **Real-Time Inventory Management**:
suppliers, transporters, and distributors. - **WMS (Warehouse Management Provides up-to-date information on stock levels.
Systems)**: Tracks inventory, storage, and
- **Real-Time Information Sharing**: Using shipping within warehouses. - **Reduced Errors**: Minimizes human error
digital tools to track inventory and shipments by automating data collection.
and share updates with all supply chain - **Transportation Management Systems
partners. (TMS)**: Manages transportation logistics, - **Increased Efficiency**: Speeds up
including planning routes and tracking processes such as inventory counting and order
- Efficient Resource Use: Minimizing shipments. fulfillment.
redundancy and waste through better resource
allocation. - **CRM (Customer Relationship RFID is especially useful in large warehouses
Management)**: Manages customer and retail settings where quick and accurate
- Customer-Centric Focus: Prioritizing interactions and service for better satisfaction. inventory tracking is essential.
customer satisfaction by aligning logistics
activities with customer needs. 2. **Role of IT in SCM** 2. **Barcoding**
3. **Logistics Planning and Strategy** Information technology plays a vital role in Barcoding is the use of printed labels with
enhancing supply chain operations through: machine-readable black and white lines that
Logistics planning and strategy involve store product information, such as SKU (Stock
developing a long-term plan to optimize - **Visibility and Tracking**: Providing real- Keeping Unit) numbers, prices, and inventory
logistics operations. This includes: time tracking of inventory, shipments, and levels. It is a cost-effective technology that
order status across the supply chain. helps in:
- **Demand Forecasting**: Predicting
customer demand to align inventory and - **Data Analytics**: Collecting and analyzing - Accurate Data Entry: Scanning barcodes
transportation resources accordingly. data for better demand forecasting, risk eliminates the need for manual entry, reducing
management, and process optimization. errors.
- **Route Optimization**: Choosing the most
cost-effective and time-efficient routes for - **Automation**: Automating repetitive - Quick Product Identification: Items can be
delivery. tasks, such as order processing and inventory scanned instantly, speeding up processes like
restocking, reducing human error and saving picking and packing.
- **Warehouse Location Selection**: Placing time.
warehouses close to customer hubs to reduce - Inventory Control: Barcodes help track
shipping times and costs. - **Enhanced Collaboration**: Enabling product movement, manage stock levels, and
seamless communication between suppliers, reduce stockouts or overstock.
- **Sustainability Strategy**: Reducing manufacturers, and distributors for coordinated
environmental impact by using eco-friendly decision-making. - Cost-Efficiency: Barcode systems are
transport methods and minimizing waste. affordable and easy to implement compared to
- **Customer Experience**: Improving more complex tracking systems.
4. **Inventory Management and Its Role in customer satisfaction by giving them accurate
Customer Service** order tracking information and faster delivery.
Inventory management oversees the ordering, 3. **Current IT Trends in SCM**
storing, and using a company’s inventory,
including raw materials, components, and The supply chain is evolving with technology
finished products. Its primary goals are to trends that are making operations faster, more
maintain the right inventory levels and improve efficient, and customer-friendly:
customer satisfaction by:
- **Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine
Learning**: Used for demand forecasting,
