A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

Supply chain management

When distinguishing between  buy-  side and  sell-  side e-commerce we are looking at different 

aspects of managing an organisation’s supply chain. 

Supply chain management (SCM)

 is 

the coordination of all supply activities of an organisation from its suppliers and delivery 

of products to its customers. (The opportunities for using e-commerce to streamline and 

restructure the supply chain are described in more detail in Chapter 6.) The 

value chain

 is a 

related concept that describes the different  value-  adding activities that connect a company’s 

supply side with its demand side. We can identify an internal value chain within the bounda-

ries of an organisation and an external value chain where these activities are performed by 

partners. Note that in the era of digital business a company will manage many interrelated 

value chains, so we also consider the concept of a 

value network

 (see Chapter 6).