Supply chain management (SCM) is implemented by integrating corporate functions using business processes within and across companies (Council of Logistics Management 2003). Supply chain management encompasses more than the activities of any individual corporate function. However, frequently it is seen as a synonym for logistics (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky, and Simchi-Levi 2000), operations management (APICS 2001), procurement (Monczka, Trent, andHandfield 1998), or a combination of the three (Wisner, Leong, and Tan 2004). Many regard the "supply chain" as being composed of inbound materials, raw material inventories, manufacturing, finished goods inventories and distribution and view these activities within the purview of a single firm; others view the supply chain as these activities from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. Another perspective of supply chain management is based on the management of relationships both between corporate functions and across companies (Ellram and Cooper 1993).
Given that a supply chain is the network of companies, or independent business units, from original supplier to end-customers, management of this network is a broad and challenging task. Increasingly, one goal of managers is to implement cross-functional business processes and integrate them with other key members of the supply chain. A business process is a structured set of activities with specified business outcomes for customers (Davenport and Beers 1995). Initially, business processes were viewed as a means to integrate corporate functions within the firm. Now, business processes are used to structure the activities between members of a supply chain. Hammer (2001) asserts that it is in the integration of business processes across firms in the supply chain where the real "gold" can be found (Quinn 2001).