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Vol 31 - No 04 - June 2005 Supply Chain Integration : Achieving Small Supplier Participation Somewhere in your Supply Chain is an SME (Small or Medium Enterprise) – you may have to go down a few tiers but they are always there. While one SME may only provide a small part of the value of your supply chain they may well rely heavily on your business for their survival. Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become a mainstream business issue for most large businesses; its importance in reducing costs and increasing customer value is firmly established. Falling costs of IT technologies and solutions available to deliver SCM mean that its adoption can be a cost effective way to increase competitiveness through more efficient SCM. Almost by definition this involves linking your IT systems with those of your suppliers, probably via the Internet, a process called Supply Chain Integration. However, even though your business case is compelling and your chosen solution is simple and cost effective, you may well find it difficult to get suppliers, particularly small businesses, to participate. Page number: 13 Word count: 1550 Related Topics: Internet Supply chain
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