Supply chain management on discussion
A seminar on supplier managed inventory (SMI), also known as supply chain management, was held in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on July 19 to boost Vietnamese enterprises’ sustainable development.
The event was organised by the Vung Tau branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in coordination with the Vietnam Marketing Association (VMA).
SMI is an integrated system that manages related units’ effective activities in the continuous process from material supply to final consumers. It aims to control the demand chain of customers and producers’ supply capacity.
According to VMA Chairman Le Phung Hao, supply chain in Vietnamese businesses still lacks linkage and integration to establish competitive edges and criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of SMI phases, as well as appropriate investments in information technology to foster the effectiveness of management.
Domestic companies have not made full use of the supply chain’s advantages to supplement added values to their products, and they have not yet set up strategies to integrate their value chain into the global one, Hao added.
SMI, which normally accounts for over 50 percent of enterprises’ total production and business costs, determines and benefits their sustainable development.
It is a key element that shapes the cost price of products, and is a process of supplying materials and commodities just in time and at reasonable prices to better meet customer demand.