IPA IP 2020 Question 15

Reviewing the whole chain from procurement to the consumer, business partners included, to shorten delivery times and cut inventory — SCM optimizes the flow of goods across companies as one whole.

SCM (Supply Chain Management) looks at the supply chain: procurement of materials, production, distribution and sale until the product reaches the consumer, a chain that usually spans several companies (suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers). Instead of each company or department optimizing only its own part, the partners share information such as demand, production plans and inventory, and manage the chain as a whole. The results are shorter lead times and less excess inventory, with fewer stockouts.

Answer (b)

Why not others:

• •(a) — integrating sales, marketing and after-sales service to raise customer satisfaction and profit is CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
• •(c) — fundamentally redesigning the whole business around customer needs is BPR (Business Process Reengineering)
• •(d) — managing a company’s own core operations (procurement, production, sales, finance, HR) in one integrated system is ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

Key rule: SCM optimizes the flow of goods across companies, ERP integrates one company’s core operations, CRM manages customer relationships, and BPR redesigns business processes from scratch.

Business Strategy Management · AI-written, may contain errors