Supply Management

The term supply management describes the methods and processes of modern corporate or institutional buying. This may be for the purchasing of supplies for internal use referred to as indirect goods and services, purchasing raw materials for the consumption during the manufacturing process, or for the purchasing of goods for inventory to be resold as products in the distribution and retail process.

In many organizations, acquisition or buying of services is called contracting, while that of goods is called purchasing or procurement. The supply management function of an organization is responsible for various aspects of these acquisitions:

• Working with business leaders who have identified a business need or requirement to identify, source, contract, and procure the needed good or service from qualified suppliers
• Managing supplier performance
• Implementing technologies, processes, policies, and procedures to support the purchasing process (Supplier Relationship Management).
• The supplier relationship management process: a process for providing the structure for how relationships with suppliers will be developed and maintained.
• Economic theories of supply and demand

Supply management is generally regarded as a systematic business process that includes more functions than traditional buying, such as coordinating inbound and internal pre-production logistics and managing inventory.

Supply management deals primarily with the oversight and management of materials and services inputs, management of the suppliers who provide those inputs, and support of the process of acquiring those inputs. The performance of supply management departments and supply management professionals is commonly measured in terms of amount of money saved for the organization. However, managing risk is one of the other critical aspects of supply management; especially the risk of non-availability at the required time of quality goods and services critical for an organization's survival and growth.