Energy Efficiency in the Supply Chain

Supply chain management offers a holistic view of the enterprise and its interfaces with other members of the network that compose the supply chain in an effort to serve end-users. As such, it affords the opportunity to identify and measure the many ways in which value is created and costs are generated. Beyond this traditional orientation, however, the analysis of supply chains supports the examination of energy consumption and transfer in the multi-company provision of meeting the needs of the end-use market. Given that supply chains are effectively competing against one another today, developing an understanding of how energy is used and designing supply chains that integrate this logic to more effectively fulfill market demands represents the next frontier for management advancement.