Introduction to Supply Chain Innovations Today

In this introductory podcast, I set the stage for our discussions to follow. These podcasts are intended to be a series of interviews with influential decision makers in various aspects of the supply chain. Some will be involved with information technology, some with process design, and still others directly engaged in the development and delivery of a good or service. But all have as their purpose providing a finished product to the customer as efficiently and effectively as possible. To frame the future discussion, I talk briefly in this podcast about what Supply Chain Management is, and what it isn't. I chose to use, as our starting definition of the Supply Chain, the one provided by John T. Mentzer in his text Supply Chain Management. He defines it as "a set of three or more companies directly linked by one or more of the upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, and information from a source to a customer." It is also important to note that supply chain management has varied definitions, but nearly all them involve managing the relationships and flows identified in the definition of the supply chain. Join us, as we continue down this road of exploration, and learn together to continuously improve all aspects of our supply chains.