supply chain efforts are alive and well,in business management:

There were several other important points that emerged from the survey.
When we asked if the CEO considers supply chain management to be a source
of competitive advantage, the replies were 75% positive, indicating the concept
is now accepted at the most senior level of the business for most organizations.
When we inquired as to what functions/costs were included in a supply chain
organization, there were two categories to the responses. The major functions
included, in ranked order:
_ Logistics, transportation, and warehousing
_ Purchasing procurement and sourcing
_ Inventory and materials management
_ Forecasting, planning, and scheduling
_ Supply chain software and technology
The secondary functions included:
_ Manufacturing
_ Supplier relationship management
_ Customer relationship management
_ Marketing, sales, and customer service
We interpret these findings to indicate that, once again, most business organizations
are hard at work on the basics, or level 1 through 3 efforts, while
postponing higher level efforts that would include a closer network type of
relationship with suppliers and customers. Virtually 90% of the firms responding
to the survey placed their companies or business units in levels 1 through
3, while there was evidence that the ASCM concepts were not fully understood
or applied. The only firms giving themselves multiple level 4 or 5 ratings were
in the discrete manufacturing, high-technology, telecommunications, and wholesale
distribution industries. The laggards formed a much larger group, with
defense, government, oil and gas, publishing and printing, and utilities contained
in that area. Best-in-class ratings were given to Dell, Wal-Mart, Procter
& Gamble, Toyota, Cisco Systems, IBM, General Electric, and Hewlett-Packard.
The most surprising result of the survey was the indication that a solid
supply chain strategy was generally missing in action. By that we mean most
responding firms indicated they did not have a specific strategy at work todefine the supply chain effort or, more importantly, to link the results with the
business plan.