BUSS 5325 Assessment 1 Xiao Liang 110025771 Essay

Submitted By Xiao-Liang
Words: 2110
Pages: 9

Introduction
Nowadays, logistics and supply chain management plays an increasingly important role in current business. According to Halldorsson & Larson (2004), there are four perspectives on logistics versus supply chain management. This essay will analyze four conceptual perspectives on logistics versus supply chain management that invoiced traditionalist, relabeling, unionist and inter-sectionist, and then find out the most compelling argument from these four perspectives.

Supply chain management is a kind of network management that integrated some key business processes from raw materials suppliers to then end customers, which include provide goods, supply services, add value to the information that provide to the end users and other stakeholders (Lambert & Stock 2001). On the other hand, the supply chain management is defined as the control of relationship between downstream and upstream, which the suppliers and customers in the supply chain as a whole to decrease cost in order to deliver excellent customer value (Christopher 1998). The main point of supply chain management is to manage relationships, which alike to the institutions idea of active synergy effect established through the networks of linkage. The linkages of the system are better than the optimizing each component. As a result, the system method is not only pay attention to the individual components, but also focus on how they are relevant. For example, the system method could focus on the different functions or business activities, which in the meantime. Besides, supply chain management has also enlightened Council of Logistics Management that is newly formed defined the logistics as a portion of the supply chain process, which through the projects, implements, and manages the efficient in order to effective the products store and flow, provide preferable services, and associated information from the starting point to the point of consumption so as to achieve end users’ demands. Although there is short of protocol on the relationship between supply chain management and logistics, there are four conceptual perspectives on logistics versus supply chain management that involved traditionalist, relabeling, unionist, and inter-section.

Traditionalist
Firstly, the traditionalist defines supply chain management within logistics, which means supply chain management is a small section of logistics. The educators who with respect to logistics management could add a supply chain management chapter into a logistics management textbook, or insert a lecture in regard to supply chain management into the logistics management course, which is simply to realize. Although the authors who insert a supply chain management chapter in the logistics textbooks are not always the traditionalists, the logistics community is inclined to regard as supply chain management is outside of company in the logistics management (Lambert 2001). For this reason, it could reduce supply chain management as a special form of logistics such as external or inter-systemic logistics. The practitioners of traditionalist might establish new positions in the logistics community that named supply chain management analyst. Supply chain management analysts will expand the scope of logistics analysis, probably associate with logistics and other functions within the company, as well as the supply chain with other companies.

Relabeling
Secondly, the relabeling perspective just rechristen logistics that it was logistics, but it called supply chain management now. According to Fearon & Leenders (1997), there is an organizational strategy that called logistics management or supply chain management. According to Handfield et.al (1998), there is an evolution from logistics to integrated logistics that is always named supply chain management at present. Moreover, supply chain management techniques refer to the planning and managing of whole materials flows from suppliers to end customers (Jones & Riley 1985).