Christopher S.

Pontejo
MBA-NT
A Briefer on Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, Inventory
Control Models, JIT and Lean Operations
Supply chain management is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize
customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Supply chain activities cover
everything from product development, sourcing, production, and logistics, as well as the
information systems needed to coordinate these activities.
The organizations that make up the supply chain are linked together through physical flows
and information flows. Physical flows involve the transformation, movement, and storage of
goods and materials. They are the most visible piece of the supply chain. But just as important
are information flows. Information flows allow the various supply chain partners to coordinate
their long-term plans, and to control the day-to-day flow of goods and material up and down the
supply chain.( https://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/what-is-supply-chainmanagement)
Inventory can be a vital part of managing supply chains. An excessive amount of inventory
denotes cost of working capital tied up in assets not converted to sales. The larger issue here,
however, is that this safety stock situation is likely a symptom of some sort of ineffective supply
chain management decision-making. Perhaps demand forecasting is constantly and significantly
inaccurate, maybe supplier lead times are unnecessarily long, perhaps firm operations are
laden with bottlenecks and inefficient inventory handling, or maybe transportation carriers are
not providing quality service in the form of delivering inventory damage-free and on-time. These
are but a few examples of supply chain management ineffectiveness that often manifest in the
form of either extensive levels of stagnant inventory or consistent out-of-stocks. Hence,
inventory is an important supply chain measurement tool because it is likely one of the first
signs
that
some
root
cause(s)
is
causing
supply
chain
inefficiencies.
(http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article).
It can be seen that an important aspect in supply chain management is in establishing strong
bonds of communication and trust. Exchange of information that is accurate, up-to-date on the
demand and inventory levels. Physical flows and information flows are vital in supply chain
management. The amount of inventory a company keeps tells about its ongoing sales activity.

Having visibility and control over moving supply rather than idle inventory has compelled
businesses to take both a tactical and strategic approach to developing lean supply chains. Just
in-time (JIT) has an overall strategic focus to provide companies with an exceptional amount of
savings. Dell and Toyota are two examples that illuminate the cost saving effects that just-intime offers.

Dell, which participates in the computer technology industry, is the only company within its
industry that effectively utilizes just in time. They have "revolutionized the selling of personal
computers, using a direct-business model whose fundamental tenets include taking custom
orders directly from customers, thereby reducing inventory and streamlining distribution"
To seek the benefits of providing customized orders and reducing the average delivery time,
Toyota has developed its own software that connects dealers to factories and factories to
suppliers. The integration of the value chain creates visibility for all members of Toyota's supply
chain.
These companies have developed clear methods that is within the concept of just-in-time.
Again, we see how the role of fast communication together with technology contribute in the
success of JIT. In industries not involved in production, JIT would mean delivering a service in
the least possible time through efficiency of tasks. Errors in service would mean backjobs and
back logs. In the case of DepEd, students, not teachers, must comply and pass their
requirements in order to be promoted to the next level. Good performance is their passport to
success.