Since Michael Porter founded the competitive strategy theory in the 1980s, some foreign scholars have also discussed the mechanisms of strategic alliances, virtual operations, and supply chain management from the perspective of competitive strategy. The acquisition of corporate competitive advantage increasingly depends on the competitive advantage of the entire supply chain, rather than the competitive advantage of a single enterprise. From the perspective of the value chain, we can understand the necessity of cross-enterprise supply chain management, strengthen the value-added of the entire supply chain, and improve the competitive advantage of the supply chain, which is particularly important for cross-border e-commerce companies.
“Supply” and “Purchase” are two important aspects of transactions. All companies need to purchase goods and services from external suppliers, and there is a close relationship between the development of procurement management and supply chain management. More than half of the sales revenue of manufacturing companies is used to purchase raw materials, parts and other services from suppliers. In the 1950s, the first newer and more extensive concept of procurement, “Materials Management”, appeared, including inventory control, production control and distribution; the development of materials management technology and computer technology led to the emergence of MRP and MRPII in the 1960s.
From procurement to supply chain management, the content of supply chain management has undergone fundamental changes, from purchasing in the office to mechanical procurement, and then to proactive procurement, and has developed into the latest world-class supply management, heralding the arrival of the supply chain management era. World-class means that the company is or will soon face competition in the global environment. The enterprise has crossed the functional boundaries and corporate boundaries, and is not centered on departments or the internal departments of the enterprise, but on supply chain optimization, focusing on improving the competitiveness of the enterprise and the supply chain as a long-term goal. Member companies jointly formulate and implement strategies based on the supply chain. Strategic management has historically exceeded the scope of a single enterprise and is no longer centered on a single enterprise; the supply chain has changed from a tool to improve efficiency to a paradigm for a group of enterprises to jointly formulate strategies.