What is supply Management?

Several authors have offered various definitions of supply management, whereas the definitions have seemed concomitant, the functions of supply management have at times appeared paradoxical. According to Gattorna et al (2003), supply management is defined as the methodical business progression that encompasses diversified functions such as synchronizing inbound and internal logistics and managing inventory than legendary buying, this is in agreement with Baily et al, (2005), who implies that supply management is the recognition, acquirement, entree, position and administration of resources and associated competence the business needs or prospectively needs to survive. However, Leenders et al, (2001), defines supply management as techniques and procedures of institutional or corporate buying, and argues that supply management is concerned with the oversight and administration of services and resource inputs, handling the suppliers of the inputs and sustaining input acquisition process. These definitions have however centered on explaining supply management as just the process buying and the management of the processes of buying and related procedures. Trent , (2007), offers a diversified definition of supply management and argues that supply management has matured from deliberate function of procurement and purchasing into a crucial strategic role influencing the survival of the organizations, he argues that supply management plays a primary role in the organization in that it influences the organization's image, social and corporate policy, progresses the competitive position and customer satisfaction and promotes effectiveness, productivity and efficiency of an organization. Supply management is therefore viewed as the main source of strategic competitive advantage of an organization. The research shall therefore evaluate the defined effectiveness of strategic management as a source of competitive advantage to organizations.