Supply Chain Management Optimization: challenges and strategies in companies in the city of Loja.

Abstract

The research has revealed that the supply chain is configured as a complex and systematic system, constituted by a set of interrelated actors and processes, and that through these, companies are supplied with sufficient inputs to meet the needs and preferences of customers, and meet production and quality standards. Demand forecasting is a crucial task to achieve these purposes, since it is responsible for forecasting the amount of products that will be demanded in the future. Therefore, the present qualitative, documentary, and descriptive study aimed to comprehensively analyze the management of the supply chain and business logistics in six companies from different sectors in the city of Loja. Data were collected through observation and interview; and for the recording of the information, the field diary and the questionnaire were used. It was found that the six companies manage the supply chain based on four components: suppliers, distribution, company, delivery channel and customer. In addition, they have experienced a number of problems in areas such as inventory management, transportation, warehousing, and technology. In conclusion, companies have worked to face such problems, and, although they have managed to overcome certain challenges, inadequate inventory management remains a latent problem. Faced with this, three quantitative models useful for calculating the forecast of demand for certain products were presented, taking as reference three companies under study.