ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the basic concepts of supply chain management are explained. It is shown that supply chains in some shape or form are required to deliver products and services. Since the earliest recorded times, there has been trading of goods and materials between regions and states resulting from the combined activities of many individuals, governments and the global community. The development of societies, culture and history, and mere chance, led to specific characteristics of countries and regions. The differences in characteristics have become less distinct for a variety of reasons. Since 1945, there have been revolutionary changes in the modes of transport and logistics (containerisation, 100,000-ton bulk carriers now the norm, pipelines between and through nations, longrange air freight, freight consolidation), the means of production (robotics, automation, new materials which are lighter and stronger), communication (the World Wide Web, email, e-Business, social media), integration and the means to foster integration such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and variants such as System Application Product (SAP) bar coding, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), free trade and the easing of economic blocs (European Union, free trade agreements between groups of nations such as the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership Arrangement, the emergence of the People’s Republic of China as the second single biggest economy after the United States, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall), social conscience (the green movement, awareness of climate change, human rights and fair trade) – all leading to a truly global marketplace.
