Supply Chain Management: some reflections to improve its influence in business strategy

Abstract

Supply Chain Management (scm) is a nearly new discipline of management that can be seen in different ways. However, only a strategic approach of scm that leads to subsequent tactical decisions and operational implementation will provide the benefits that scm promises. A presentation of the evolution of scm from its beginnings as part of Operations Management (om) to an independent field in management has the objective of determining its correct scope. Therefore, we examined papers where the research agenda of both om and scm —from the beginnings of these disciplines to these days— has been discussed in order to show the evolution of scm as a field of high relevance in om. We emphasize the strategic nature of scm and the importance to be considered in this way. We argue that is a narrow view thinking of scm as directly related to logistics as its main focus, since this logistic vision creates a bias that limits the real scope of scm. In order for this strategic vision of the scm to be implemented correctly, it is crucial to know both how the role and the profile of sc managers should be.