supply chain
Entire network of entities, directly or indirectly interlinked and interdependent in serving the same consumer or customer. It comprises of vendors that supply raw material, producers who convert the material into products, warehouses that store, distribution centers that deliver to the retailers, and retailers who bring the product to the ultimate user. Supply chains underlie value-chains because, without them, no producer has the ability to give customers what they want, when and where they want, at the price they want. Producers compete with each other only through their supply chains, and no degree of improvement at the producer's end can make up for the deficiencies in a supply chain which reduce the producer's ability to compete.
USAGE EXAMPLES
We should take a look at our supply chain for sourcing our pizza toppings and see if we can find better deals through other vendors.
Toyota wasnt able to make enough cars for all of its dealers, since it had supply chain issues and couldn"t find enough parts.
An important part of running a small business is ensuring that you have good supply chain management to ensure that your stock is always full and ready for anything.
