Supply chains exist in order to provide the end customer with the goods they require. IN order to achieve this appropriate information must be made available in a timely manner. The information must be made available to those who need to plan and execute the operations of the supply chain. Therefore an information flow facility is required.In order to make information available we need to use information technology. We need communications technology to distribute information, storage technology to maintain databases, and processing technology to process the data into meaningful information. The efficiency and effectiveness of supply chains can be greatly enhanced through the use of information, based upon the use of information technologies. IT therefore plays a crucial role in supply chains.

I agree with Liam. Nowadays is impossible to think any process related with Supply Chain without TI.

Can we ask SCM students learn IT or IT students learn SCM? What about the body of knowledge then?

I think that it is important for supply chain students to understand the use of information within their supply chains. Any supply chain professional must have information available to enable them to effectively and efficiently carry out their role. Supply chain performance is enhanced through the availability of information such as demand information, capacity information, supply availability information etc. Students should therefore underrstand the role of information and the role of information systems within the supply chain. I would stress the need to understand the information system, rather than an undrstandiing of the underlying technology, although a certain understanding of the technology is useful.

For IT students, I would suggest that they need an understanding of the organisational context in which the technology is to be deployed. An understanding of the context is required if an appropriate technology solution is to be developed for a problem domain. IT students should have an understanding of the major business processes, the role of information in business processes, the role of information systems both within the organisation and as interorganisational systems, such as those that support the supply chain.

My Twente colleague is doing some very good work. Check out http://www.utwente.nl/mb/iebis/staff/hillegersberg/

One of the important application is RFID technology, wich is give good example for that.

And check out my review of ERP-software in supply chain management

http://www.waltherploosvanamstel.nl/?p=1428

At present time, competitive advantages of organizations heavily depends onto information sharing and flow of information across the supply chain. Therefore, IT play a very crucial role. Beside information flow, IT can be used for various decision making processes.

The sharing of information across the supply chain requires agreement between the supply chain participants. Information flow, information visibility, and information velocity are important concepts to enable an information driven supply chain. However this is not simply a technical issue. It involves decisions at the strategic level as decisions regarding the sharing of information are linked to how we wish to interact with our supply chain partners at all levels from operational through to strategic. The nature of the supply chain needs to be considered when deciding the appropriate manner in which information should be shared. Highly collaborative partnerships with key suppliers will have a different requirement for information sharing than transactional relationships with other members of the supply chain.

IT is necessary to solve the logistics in the supply chain, the question, I think, is how this technology is designed in terms of gadgets, type of information, ERP systems, RFID etc. You have to combine management with engineering skills in order to get a good solution!

One aspect i can see for IT's role in supply chain management is to develop and implement advanced planning system (APS) that works with ERP and other layers to make more effective and efficient decisions at strategic, tactical and operation level so as to make the supply chain more agile, flexible and robust.

IT is in many cases an enabler for supply chain management as we know it. Without it, it would be impossible to manage the complexity of many modern supply chain structures. The use of appropriate IT can improve performance, both in monetary terms, but also in other aspects, such as the greening of supply chains.

Supply chain activities involves a chain of values somewhere along the its operation. So, the IT can be use as a tool to create efficiency and effectiveness in the value chain activities. It can be anyway, whether in the upstream or downstream part of the supply chain activities. In terms of efficiency, IT can help to save cost - transactional cost and agency cost, communication cost for examples. Effectiveness in terms of it is speedy, customization, market niche, handling of customer demand - avoiding bull whip effect, and etc. In another word, IT assist in solving those problem right?

Competitive advantage massively relies on the information sharing and use of that information in an efficient and effective manner during the analysis process from the daily operational issues to the future planning. IT adds value by brings the efficiency and effectiveness to the supply chain activities. For instance, Data capturing, information sharing, analysis, optimization, autonomous control, etc. all used IT based platform in order to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, robustness, etc. in supply chain.

While, Combining the Supply Chain Management (SCM) and available IT tools/techniques; understanding of both is equally important. However, Its' essential to understand SCM problems and the business process itself (variables, process mapping, performance measures, etc) prior selection of available IT tools/techniques in order to use the available information in an effective manner in order to develop the effective solution or use the more relevant IT tool/techniques.

There are many ways IT influences SCM i.e. transaction costs, performance measurement, etc. One important application is RFID technology.

I think IT makes it more convenience to find the solutions of the problems involved in supply chain management.

The key enabler of supply chain is IT. IT has not only harmonized the internal corporate systems but also has extended the full collaboration capabilities to suppliers, customers and other stake holders within the bounds of supply chain. The coordination and operational flows within supply chain are possible only due to IT. IT has strategically enabled / addressed all the key business processes (e.g customer service, order processing, logistics, sales ....) of SC. All the new initiatives of SC (RFID, Global Planning, Global Supply, Shipment Tracking ...) are enabled with the help of IT. That's why SC and IT work hand in glove.

Over the past three decades, customer expectations have risen by leaps and bounds . Customers continue to become more sophisticated and interested in innovative products and customized services. They are becoming more unpredictable in their wants and needs. At the same time, they continue to expect and demand more ‘value’ from brands. In their bid to satisfy the customer’s need, Information Technology serves a tool to serve the customers with their product and service offerings.Thus, to achieve sustainable advantage in this competitive scenario, it is imperative for businesses to service the needs of their customers with the help of Information Technology.

IT improves the supply chain’s ability to sense market changes by improving theadequacy, accuracy, accessibility, and timeliness of the information flows among members of the supplychain. IT also increases the supply chain’s ability to respond to market changes by reducing the cost,and improving the quality and timeliness of developing and executing coordinated plans to respond tomarket changes throughout the supply chain.

Dear,

I agree with your ideas. In current business, the comeptitiveness of companies have detemined not only by their capabilities but through thier supply chain integration. In order to increase its supply chain capability, supply chain integration through information technology are becoming cruial. The effective and modern information technology facilitates the exchange of logistics and informations in easy way. However, I have understand from my literature review that there are two main challenges. the first challenge is how to integrate the different sofware that evolving at different streams such as supply chain planning and execution, warehouse management and transport management systems. the second challenge how we can integrate firms in developing countries with low capabilities in information technology infrastructure. The firms in developing countries are contributing as early part of suppliers of the raw material. For the whole global supply chain integration how we can include the small and medium enterprises in developing countries in this information exchange with the new information technology capability to get higher competitiveness advantages. How the firms in developed countries can share costs and experience to expolit such SC integration advantages?

Information overload is the challenge of every company today. There is a need for providing companies with access to well-organized and actionable information on the basis for their Business Intelligence practice. Data, information and knowledge are very important commodities for organizations. The effective utilization of these ‘commodities’ is increasingly the only way for organizations to achieve and sustain competitive advantage.

The goal of supply chain management is to deliver what you need to know, when you need to know, and in a format that is easy to understand. IT based supply chain management practices provide a complete set of services designed to help manage your business data, knowledge and access that data/ knowledge in meaningful and useful ways.

For additional details of how this process works, refer tom the following pages:

http://www.knowledgesol.com/knowledge-and-process-management-kpm.html

This is very relevant question. IT plays very important role in supply chains, especially for agile supply chains in which demand variability is high. IT allows for smooth flow of information between different supply chain members (i.e. suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers..etc), which in turn facilitates the physical flow of products.

See my paper, answering a part of your question

What is the role of IT in a socially sustainable supply chain? Evidence from the retail industry

Technical Report What is the role of IT in a socially sustainable supply chai...