- It's a Small World After All
- How Big an Opportunity Is It?
- Linking Competitive Strategy to the Value Chain
- Competitive Strategy, Business Processes, and IT Structure Aligned
- Using the SCOR Model to Help Enable Lean Opportunities with Technology
Using the SCOR Model to Help Enable Lean Opportunities with Technology
We will be discussing the interaction of supply chain and operations processes with technology throughout this book, and the most organized way to do this, I believe, is using the SCOR model (see Figure 1.5). This model, which was designed by the Supply Chain Council (which has since merged with APICS; see www.apics.org), divides the supply chain into six management processes:
Plan—This process involves balancing supply and demand, which we will discuss in detail along with the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process. These plans are communicated throughout the supply chain.
Source—This process involves the procurement of goods to meet demand. It includes identification, selection, and performance measurement of sources of supply, as well as delivery and receipt of materials.
Make—This is the transformation process, which involves converting raw materials into finished products.
Deliver—This process involves the resources needed to move materials along the supply chain, from suppliers to manufacturing and then to customers. It includes order management, warehousing, and shipping.
Return—This is the reverse logistics process for product or material that is returned, including repair, maintenance, and overhaul.
Enable (added in SCOR version 11 in 2012)—This process focuses on supporting the other five process steps with best practices to support those steps.
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Figure 1.5 SCOR Model
Before we get into specifics about applying Lean tools and technology to various processes, it is important to gain some insight into how and why the supply chain has grown in importance, understand some Lean concepts and tools, and discuss the general technology sourcing process.