Supply chain

A supply chain is a network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a specific product to the final buyer. Supply chains have historically involved moving products, people, and money between organizations to ensure that end-consumers get what they wanted within a preferred timeframe. As companies continue to virtualize their operations by outsourcing functions that would typically be handled in-house, an increasing amount of complexity is added to supply chains, because parties within the network must coordinate in order to be effective and efficient.