Special research focus on supply chain linkages: challenges for design and management in the 21st century

摘要

Supply chain management is a central and important area for academic research due to its impact on firms competing in today's global economy. Managing the flow of mate- rials from supply sources to ultimate customer represents a major challenge for today's managers. To assist managers, the concept of supply chain management has been adopted by many business leaders as an important way to assist in designing, plan- ning, and controlling the network of facilities and tasks that comprise the many stages of the supply chain. In turn, the flow of academic research in the area has increased to pro- vide a better set of guidelines for effective implementation and execution.