Supply Chain Paper
Introduction The area of business that we have decided to research is the world of automobile dealerships. When discussing the supply chain of car dealerships, it is important to discuss both their "brick and mortar" facilities and their organizational web sites. Both the "brick and mortar" facilities and the web sites play a vital role in the success of modern day car dealerships, so it is important to discuss both. First, we will the "brick and mortar" environment.
Brick and Mortar Supply Chain Describing the supply chain of a traditional "brick and mortar" automobile dealership is very similar to explaining the supply chain of a typical business-to-consumer organization. The suppliers provide the materials to create parts for the manufacturers; the manufacturers build, assemble the products before sending them to the distributors. The final products or services are then taken by the distributor who delivers them to the consumers, completing the supply chain. This is a very simple example of a "brick and mortar" business supply chain. The supply chain of an automobile dealership is similar, but much more complex.
In reality, the materials and supplies that it takes to build the parts of a car do not come from just one supplier. It is not uncommon for there to be an entire network of suppliers, and suppliers to those suppliers, and so on. These suppliers of suppliers are often called second tier suppliers, and third tier, forth tier and maybe fifth tier suppliers (Schneider, 2004). After the materials and parts are created, they are sent to the manufacturer. When discussing the supply chain of an automobile dealership, it is important to understand that the actual car manufacturer is the largest and most important part of that chain. The parts that created by the supplier are not just sent to one place, these car manufacturers have assembly plants all over the world. It is here in the manufacturing plants that the materials, parts and supplies are
Brick and Mortar Supply Chain Describing the supply chain of a traditional "brick and mortar" automobile dealership is very similar to explaining the supply chain of a typical business-to-consumer organization. The suppliers provide the materials to create parts for the manufacturers; the manufacturers build, assemble the products before sending them to the distributors. The final products or services are then taken by the distributor who delivers them to the consumers, completing the supply chain. This is a very simple example of a "brick and mortar" business supply chain. The supply chain of an automobile dealership is similar, but much more complex.
In reality, the materials and supplies that it takes to build the parts of a car do not come from just one supplier. It is not uncommon for there to be an entire network of suppliers, and suppliers to those suppliers, and so on. These suppliers of suppliers are often called second tier suppliers, and third tier, forth tier and maybe fifth tier suppliers (Schneider, 2004). After the materials and parts are created, they are sent to the manufacturer. When discussing the supply chain of an automobile dealership, it is important to understand that the actual car manufacturer is the largest and most important part of that chain. The parts that created by the supplier are not just sent to one place, these car manufacturers have assembly plants all over the world. It is here in the manufacturing plants that the materials, parts and supplies are