A supply chain is a network of businesses and activities that takes a product from raw material suppliers to end consumers. By definition, logistics refers to the processes of acquiring, transporting, and storing resources along the supply chain.
A supply chain relies heavily on information technology, logistics, and transportation. To know more about logistics and supply chain management, visit https://www.simplifyscs.com/.
Let’s look at two different examples of a supply chain.
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Generic Supply Chain
The generic supply chain begins with the sourcing and extraction of raw materials. The materials are taken to a manufacturer, or probably to various manufacturers that refine and process them into a finished product. The finished products are then taken by a logistics provider to a supplier.
Afterward, it goes to a distributor that wholesales the finished product, which is next delivered to a retailer. The retailer sells the product in a store to consumers. Once the consumer buys it, this completes the cycle, but it’s the demand that then goes back and drives the production of more raw materials, and the cycle continues.
Supply Chain for an e-Commerce Company
In this example, the e-commerce company operates a website, and that website sells various products. When a customer places an order for a product, the product order is being processed by technology such as a checkout cart, an order system, or a third-party product such as Shopify. The payment processors then come in and deal with payment transactions for the order, which actually opens up a new supply chain.