JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, Vol.22, No. 2, 2001

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DEFINING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT by John T. Mentzer The University of Tennessee William DeWitt The University of Maryland James S. Keebler St. Cloud State University Soonhong Min Georgia Southern University Nancy W. Nix Texas Christian University Carlo D. Smith The University of San Diego and Zach G. Zacharia Texas Christian University “Management is on the verge of a major breakthrough in understanding how industrial company success depends on the interactions between the flows of information, materials, money, manpower, and capital equipment. The way these five flow systems interlock to amplify one another and to cause change and fluctuation will form the basis for anticipating the effects of decisions, policies, organizational forms, and investment choices.” (Forrester 1958, p. 37) Forrester introduced a theory of distribution management that recognized the integrated nature of organizational relationships. Because organizations are so intertwined, he argued that system dynamics can influence the performance of functions such as research, engineering, sales, and promotion.

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MENTZER, DeWITT, KEEBLER, MIN, NIX, SMITH, AND ZACHARIA

He illustrated this phenomena utilizing a computer simulation of order information flow and its influence on production and distribution performance for each supply chain member, as well as the entire supply chain system. More recent replications of this phenomenon include the “Beer Game” simulation and research covering the “Bullwhip Effect” (Lee, Padmanabhan, and Whang 1997). Discussing the shape of the future, Forrester (1958, p. 52) proposed that after a period of research and development involving basic analytic techniques, “there will come general recognition of the advantage enjoyed by the pioneering management who have been the first to improve their