Supply Chain Management - the key for improving Macedonian SMEs’ competitivnes

In recent years, effective logistics management has been recognized as a key opportunity to improve both the profitability and competitive performance of the companies.

The reason for the existence of the supply chains is that there are very few companies that can produce end products for end-customers from raw materials on their own, without the assistance of other organizations. The company that produces the raw material is often not the same company that sells the end products to the end-customer. In order to provide end products to the end-customers, a network of actors is involved in activities (as purchasing, transforming and distribution) to produce products and/or services. All of these actors add value to the end product. The series of companies that interact to produce end products, and to contribute to the value of end products, is what will be called a supply chain.

SC performance will be a key indicator of overall corporate success in the upcoming period and core advantage when entering foreign markets and compete with low cost countries.

Consequently, the competition is no longer between companies but between supply chains. The goals of the entire supply chain become the common objective of each company. Cost and service improvements that were not achievable by individual companies, will now be attained by cooperating companies.

That is why CIRKO MES CE, together with the USAID e-Biz Project is starting to develop a Project focusing on Supply Chain Management and its implementation in the Macedonian machine tool industry.

The aim of the Project is to:
» Maximize profitability of SMEs in Macedonia
» Improve the competitiveness of SMEs in Macedonia
» Technology transfer
» Creating young professionals

Also, a number of graduate and undergraduate students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are going to do their research and graduation thesis in the field of Supply Chain Management. Some of the students will receive training in this field from domestic and foreign experts in Supply Chain Management and Logistics. By the end of the pilot Project these young professionals will be able to present and implement in Macedonian SMEs the modern issues related to Logistics and SCM, to identify the processes and the factors affecting the SCM successful management, to measure the Supply Chain performance and to analyze the outsourcing of logistics activities.

Project Activities:
» eSCM (Electronic Supply Chain Management)
o sharing product description catalogue (over the Internet)
o order status information
o inventory data
o demand projections
» Organizing events
o Annual conference
o Workshops
o Seminars
» Education and training
» Research and publications
» Networking
» Consultancy

Target Group:
» Machine tool industry (in pilot phase)
» SMEs in Macedonia