{"id":3179,"date":"2022-09-19T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-19T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/supply-chain-operations\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T22:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T22:12:13","slug":"supply-chain-operations","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/supply-chain-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Supply Chain Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What are supply chain operations?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seven supply chain operation components<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to form a supply chain operation strategy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use ShipBob to simplify inventory management and fulfilment<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supply chain operations FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Building your supply chain can be one of the hardest parts of starting an ecommerce business. To build an effective supply chain, you’ll first need to understand the operational components that comprise one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most supply chains include many operations, each of which has its own unique goals, requirements, and motions. These operations work together as a whole to move goods from your business to the customer \u2014 and because they all work together, every operational component has the potential to impact the other components, as well as the overall supply chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, in order to keep your supply chain running smoothly, it is very important to understand precisely how each operation works, as well as how it contributes to revenue and affects efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll cover what supply chain operations are, the seven operational components in a typical ecommerce supply chain, tips for creating a supply chain operations strategy, and more.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are supply chain operations?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Supply chain operations are the systems, activities, and processes that work together to move goods from the supplier to the merchant to the end customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These operations must be carried out daily, and require coordination between multiple parties, including suppliers, manufacturers, warehousing<\/a> services, ecommerce businesses, and last-mile delivery<\/a> services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are supply chain operations important?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Supply chain operations are not usually glamorous, but they are absolutely essential to a business\u2019s success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could develop an ingenious product, market it to perfection, and sell it through a state-of-the-art website; but if your business cannot effectively move it through the supply chain and onto the customer\u2019s doorstep, you\u2019ll struggle to achieve customer satisfaction and build a customer base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when your supply chain operations are all optimised<\/a> for quality and efficiency, you can achieve the seamless order fulfilment your customers were expecting, and deliver a positive experience that leaves customers primed to purchase again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Efficient supply chain operations can also help boost your business\u2019s cost savings and improve your bottom line. Ultimately, the way your supply chain operations are planned<\/a> and carried out will help you increase revenue while saving time and cutting costs.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seven supply chain operation components<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While not every ecommerce supply chain is the same, many include at least seven different operations, which function sequentially. Below we\u2019ll walk through each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demand planning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Demand planning<\/a> (also called demand forecasting<\/a>) is the first and one of the most vital components in your supply chain operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must carefully forecast demand for each product to ensure that you order or create just enough inventory to meet customer demand for a certain time period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your demand planning operations may involve using historical sales data to pinpoint purchasing patterns, which inform predictions on future demand. Knowing how goods sold in the past provides insight into demand patterns rooted in seasonality or trends, so you can accurately plan your inventory purchases or prepare your production schedules accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purchasing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Purchasing operations include all activities involved in procuring raw materials to be used in production. To complete these operations, purchasing or procurement teams may be tasked with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n