The role of manufacturers in the supply chain is typically seen as restricted solely to production. However, the specified understanding of their function within the scope of the supply chain management (SCM) could be interpreted as reductive since it does not provide the full extent of the nuances that manufacturers introduce into the SCM process. Since manufacturers also implicitly shape other aspects of a company’s functioning, including its choice of inventory management strategies and its logistics system, manufacturers should be regarded as a crucial and multifaceted part of the system.
Specifically, the impact that manufacturers produce on inventory management issues, such as the turnover rates, must not be overlooked. Specifically, the quality of the raw materials that manufacturers choose to utilize during the production process, as well as the extent of transparency about these choices, determine the quality of the end product (). In turn, the described factors affect a company’s competitiveness and, ultimately, create additional issues that an organization must address by shaping a range of its performance aspects, including the business strategy and inventory management techniques. The specified phenomenon proves the indisputable necessity of transparency at every stage of SCM relationships, including the process of manufacturing. The observed relationships between seemingly uncoordinated issues have revealed the importance of viewing the supply chain as a single mechanism.
Based on the considerations provided in the discussion post, the role of manufacturers within the corporate context and, particularly, in the SCM setting, should not be reduced solely to production. Instead, they should be viewed as another factor that influences a range of corporate choices, including inventory management-related decisions and logistics strategies. Therefore, the role of manufacturers within the organizational framework must be seen as complex and nuanced.
Reference
Alzoubi, H., Ahmed, G., Al-Gasaymeh, A., & Kurdi, B. (2020). Empirical study on sustainable supply chain strategies and its impact on competitive priorities: The mediating role of supply chain collaboration. Management Science Letters, 10(3), 703-708. Web.