Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
What is supply chain management. Have that department, not a clue what it means? Purchasing or something.
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Purchasing is part of it. It also usually includes Supplier Administration/Expediting, Contract Formation, Contract Administration, Materials Management, Traffic & Logistics & Inspection. Supply Chain (or Procurement) is usually responsible for the procurement/contract strategy and execution for goods and services that need to be contracted, i.e. can't be performed in-house.
The scope of services really depends on the type of company. For instance, a big operating company will have a purchasing department and maybe a contracts department but not the rest. An engineering company that executes big projects will have all of the disciplines mentioned above and sometimes more. However, almost all companies have buyers, many have expeditors (although it's usually just someone who's doing another job filling that void), most have logistics and many have (at least in-house) inspection.