物流英语 作者 刘晶璟 熊秀琼 unit one（Logistics and Supply Chain）.pptVIP

Suppliers: They are organizations that provide goods and \or services to a purchasing organization ( a manufacturer or a distributor). Manufacturers (producers): They are the companies that make a product. This includes companies that are producers of raw materials and companies that are producers of finished goods. Distributors: They are companies that take inventory in bulk from producers and deliver a bundle of related product lines to customers. Distributors are also known as wholesalers. Retailers: They are companies that stock inventory and sell in small quantities to the general public. Customers: They are any organization that purchases and uses a product. A customer organization may purchase a product in order to incorporate it into another product that they in turn sell to other customers. Or a customer may be the final end user if a product who buys the product in order to consume it. Service providers: They are organizations that provide services to producers, distributors, retailers, and customers. The supply chain can be viewed as a series of integrated enterprises that must share information and coordinate physical execution to ensure a smooth, integrated flow of goods, services, information, and cash through the pipeline. Basic Characteristics of Most Supply Chains The supply chain includes all activities and processes to supply a product or services to a final customer. Any number of companies can be linked in the supply chain. A customer can be a supplier to another customer to the total chain can have a number of supplier-customer relationships. While the distribution system can be direct from supplier to a customer, depending on the products and markets, it can contain a number of distributors such as wholesalers, warehouses, and retailers. Products or services usually flow from supplier to customer. Likewise, design and demand information usually flows from customer to supplier. Relationship between Logistics Management and SCM SCM is