Introduction
Supply chain management is a critical part of any project. It implies the organization and control of the flow of goods, products, and finances associated with a specific product or service to create an effective model of the firm’s work. A robust strategy helps companies generate a competitive advantage and evolve by meeting clients’ needs and avoiding unnecessary issues.
For the Relink International LTD. project, the supply chain management concepts should be aligned with its current marketing goals, such as differentiation and using online platforms to cooperate with individuals. For this reason, the major SCM concepts, such as planning, marketing, communication, and cooperation, should be considered and discussed. Thus, because of the focus on online and innovative means of reaching target customers, the proposed literature review focuses on SCM and technologies that can be used to align its practical work.
Planning
Adequate supply chain management requires planning and consideration of the current peculiarities of the environment, market, and customers’ demands. Thus, customers might have different readiness thresholds to pay for specific futures (Wacker & Samson, 2021). Furthermore, the markets can be highly competitive, with the tendency toward an increase in the number of similar products or services available to clients (Wacker & Samson, 2021).
In such a way, long-term planning and strategy acquire the top priority as the way to struggle against competitors and reach the target audience. Wacker and Samson (2021) assume that the availability of computing power improves the planning function and helps to create a firm’s strategy encompassing all goals existing at the moment.
For this reason, the existing approach to SCM is being reconsidered to add new features provided by new technologies and high levels of digitalization. The employment of various digital marketing platforms promotes new approaches to SCM and merging strategies with marketing decisions to acquire better outcomes (Wacker & Samson, 2021). In such a way, SCM’s planning and strategic functions are linked to new meanings and technologies.
SCM and AI
The existing body of literature acknowledges the critical importance of technologies in supply chain management. For instance, Toorajipour et al. (2021) state that the Internet, social media, blockchain technologies, and cloud computing are the future of SCM. Every established organization has a developed network of relationships with partners, stakeholders, clients, and other parties (Toorajipour et al., 2021). Management of these aspects, including the marketing-related systems, such as production, distribution, and delivery, is part of the modern understanding of SCM (Toorajipour et al., 2021).
Logistics, marketing, production, and information processing and storage are of enhanced importance to firms. (Toorajipour et al., 2021). The application of artificial intelligence (AI) might help to simplify managing the broad areas mentioned above and minimize the impact of human factors (Toorajipour et al., (2021). Toorajipour et al. (2021) admit that, nowadays, numerous frameworks and approaches are being developed to ensure the integration of AI into the SCM and attain better results. It often requires using a specific digital platform as the basis for future change.
Social Media and SCM
Utilizing social media can be viewed as one of the attempts to boost the effectiveness of SCM and create the basis for integrating new, more complex technologies. Thus, Agnihotriet al. (2021) assume that using social media in SCM activities is a largely overlooked topic. They think digital tools and sources introduce a unique opportunity to alter the existing SCM practices and attain significant improvement (Agnihotri et al., 2021).
In such a way, social media, already known as an effective marketing channel, can be a digital tool providing value in developing customer-centric supply chains (Agnihotri et al., 2021). It will ensure improved communication efficiency and reconsideration of the approaches to internal and external integration (Agnihotri et al., 2021). The broad use of the tool might help to acquire numerous competitive advantages. For instance, Agnihotri et al. (2021) outline that the central benefit of using social media is the ability to connect directly with different parties. Moreover, this interaction will be low-cost, timely, focused, and interactive (Agnihotri et al., 2021). These advantages are central to improving SCM and attaining better results.
In such a way, the existing literature acknowledges the importance of social media for aligning more effective supply chain management. At the same time, it is an effective digital marketing channel that might help to support digital marketing incentives. Sinha et al. (2022) admit that in today’s highly competitive business environment, digital marketing offers numerous options for companies. Currently, firms might use various channels, such as social media, email marketing, blogging, smartphones, and tablets (Sinha et al.,2022).
Thus, Sinha et al. (2022) state that digital channels are more popular than traditional ones. It means shifting priorities towards innovation is essential for generating a competitive advantage. Websites and social media provide a chance to interact directly with the client and discuss the service’s or product’s peculiarities (Sinha et al.,2022). It leads to enhanced relations with the target audience and, at the same time, promotes positive change within SCM. The effectiveness of this approach impacts the reconsideration of the strategies to create logistics and transportation to support its further development and growth.
Digital Platforms, Traceability, and Better SCM
Furthermore, the current body of research correlates digital platforms with numerous improvements in terms of SCM. For instance, Khan et al. (2023) emphasize that supply chain transparency evolves along with the development of Internet technology. Transparency is associated with better traceability, meaning it is possible to analyze the existing supply chains and analyze them (Khan et al., 2023). Traceability tracks product progress throughout the supply chain (Khan et al., 2023). This means that digitalization has led to a reduced number of mistakes and misunderstandings.
Furthermore, digital platforms alter how companies perform current tasks by providing access to the information needed at the moment (Khan et al., 2023). As a result, new visions for enhancing products and services by aligning them to the central goals emerge (Khan et al., 2023). Digital platforms also enable better controlling, delivering, and managing data (Khan et al., 2023). These features are core elements of transparency, traceability, and enhanced supply chain management (Khan et al., 2023). In such a way, using digital marketing platforms might also help improve the existing SCM strategy.
Thus, digital platforms act as specific locations where consumers can benefit from the brand’s digital presence. At the same time, the benefits are also available to firms that focus on building a more robust digital presence. Thus, digital platforms offer numerous positive effects, such as enhanced cooperation with the client, corporate economic output, customer value generation, and readiness for implementing new solutions (Khan et al., 2023). In many cases, social media can support the work of these platforms, acting as digital communication mediums linked to the platform and helping to acquire the necessary information (Khan et al., 2023).
Supply chain management offers numerous benefits, as relevant and up-to-date data about clients’ preferences and capabilities is essential for strategic decision-making and planning. In such a way, digital platforms and channels help to attain the existing marketing goals and, at the same time, lead to a better understanding of the solutions that should be made to boost performance. Using AI might be part of aligning enhanced communication with clients and processing their requests (Khan et al., 2023). Thus, digitalization offers multiple chances for improvement in SCM and other operations.
Aligning SCM and Marketing Goals
Finally, the body of literature shows that supply chain management depends on numerous factors and can be improved in various ways. Wacker and Samson (2021) state that all operations within SCM can be optimized by considering the marketing mix. Merging the supply chain strategies with marketing decisions is the key to attaining new performance levels and avoiding problems in the future (Wacker & Samson, 2021).
Customization is one of the ways to attain the given outcome. It can be achieved by considering the clients’ preferences and attitudes. This means that social media and online marketing channels are critical for collecting data necessary for this customization (Wacker & Samson, 2021). It will help to reduce spending and build a more effective strategy for managing supply chains and minimizing the number of mistakes.
Justification of Choice
The concepts and ideas mentioned above are essential for understanding the current views on SCM and opportunities for its improvement. The choice of literature focused on discussing technologies, social media, and digital platforms is justified by several factors. First, it will benefit the project as it implies using online distribution channels and interacting with clients via digitalized forms. Second, the sources help realize how marketing goals and strategies can be aligned to SCM and improve general outcomes. Furthermore, the discussed concepts, such as AI, social media, and their use in terms of logistics, are essential for the enhanced understanding of the sphere as they can be viewed as its future. In such a way, the proposed literature review helps to understand how the project can be improved.
Conclusion
The literature review emphasizes the importance of technologies in supply chain management. Nowadays, the high levels of digitalization and the evolution of social media create numerous opportunities for improving the work of organizations. Better customer relations and new changes to collect information enable firms to increase the traceability of supply chains and control at every stage.
Digital channels help to improve marketing activities and, simultaneously, reconsider the current approaches to SCM to align them with the existing goals. Technologies are critical for modern companies and should be implemented broadly to boost performance and ensure that competitive advantage is generated. The information from the literature review is essential for the project as it will help to improve outcomes and create the basis for future enhancements.
References
Agnihotri, R., Chen, H., & Daugherty, P. (2021). Utilizing social media in a supply chain B2B setting: A knowledge perspective. Journal of Business Logistics, 43(2), 189-208. Web.
Khan, M., Alshahrani, A. N., & Jacquemod, J. (2023). Digital platforms and supply chain traceability for robust information and effective inventory management: The mediating role of transparency. Logistics, 7(2), 25. Web.
Sinha, P., Nag, M., & Srivastava, S. (2022). Digital marketing channels: Analyzing customers’ preferences. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(5), 4093-4097. Web.
Toorajipour, R., Sohrabpour, V., Nazarpour, A., Oghazi, P., & Fischl, M. (2021). Artificial intelligence in supply chain management: A systematic literature review. Journal of Business Research, 122, 502-517. Web.
Wacker, J., & Samson, D. (2021). Beyond supply chain management: Jointly optimising operations/ supply and the marketing mix. Operations Management Research, 14(3), 451-466. Web.