From Supply Chain Management to inter-organizational relationships

The ambition of this book was to combine the following subjects: Supply Chain Management (SCM), Multicultural management and inter-organizational relationships. SCM was more logistics oriented, as it is the optimization of the flow of products, from a supplier to a customer. However, when we take a closer look, SCM can lead to more integration among companies. The Supply chain is the first step to link two companies together, as it generates constant cooperation. The processes have to be coordinated, and it can lead to inter-organizational relationships and even drive the modification of the internal structure of a company. Finally, an organization is nothing without the people who compose it. The value of an organization is more than the sum of the individuals who compose it. Differences can create value, complementarities, have an impact on the internal processes of an organization, and therefore lead its strategy. Three concepts, at first different, complementing each other towards the same goal: facilitating processes and generating value for companies.