Supply Chain Mapping
The purpose of the supply chain map for Bell Aliant is to help visualize and understand material flow in addition to identifying stakeholder groups within the organization. In Bell Aliant’s organization many individuals and groups perform their daily work function without an understanding of their impact on the supply chain process. The supply chain map will be a training aid in communicating to the various stakeholders how they fit into the supply chain and help them understand the basic material flow from suppliers to end customers.
Figure 1 – Bell Aliant Supply Chain Map
At Bell Aliant end customers purchase products and services on a daily basis. Bell Aliant technicians are required to install hardware at the customer premise which can consist of multiple piece parts in order for the customer to avail of the ordered service. Technicians maintain a standard inventory in their vehicles and are required to replenish this stock by ordering material from the Bell Aliant inventory or directly from a supplier. Ordering of stocked material from a Bell Aliant warehouse or ordering of non-stock material directly from a supplier is executed via systems which are supported by Bell Aliant’s finance group. Technicians also return new and used material to Bell Aliant warehouse locations when required and used material can be refurbished in a repair facility and set for resale.
The supply chain operations group is responsible to maintain inventory at their warehouse locations. Logistics personnel perform a warehousing function, inventory control personnel, in conjunction with marketing product management, set stocking levels for warehoused material and the order management group issue required purchase orders to suppliers based on contracts that have been negotiated by Bell Aliant’s procurement team.
Bell Aliant’s procurement group has established a ‘distributor model’ for the supply of faster-moving inventory items....
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