Knowledge Management and the Supply Chain: A Strategic Move
Deepak G Kulkarni.
Gone are the days when businesses flourished on physical assets like land, buildings, natural resources, equipment and cash. Today, we live in an information age, where the main source of generating wealth is ‘Knowledge’. Knowledge and its management has gained prominence in today’s times because of Information Technology (IT). Knowledge Management is the ability to create and use knowledge to achieve organizational objectives. Information and Knowledge are considered as the most strategically important resources in businesses today. Knowledge is more valuable and more powerful than physical resources. The companies that have succeeded in recent times are those which have relied on brainpower and not necessarily those which have depended upon muscle power. Many have increasingly begun discovering, what we call, ‘Intellectual Capital’ in their organizations. Intellectual Capital is the knowledge of the workforce of an organization. It is their collective brainpower. It is, as is obvious, intangible.
Knowledge discovery is the intended result of the process of analyzing or mining data for knowledge,
and, supply chain is the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and services in the hands of the ultimate customer. This paper explores how Knowledge discovery in a manufacturing and service industry with the use of IT can provide a competitive edge in the market. It outlines the use of computers in the optimum selection of operating parameters for a manufacturing plant which saves both time and money and improves the management of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as a whole. This paper also tries to highlight the significance of use of brainpower over muscle power and shows how intangible resources can provide an organization competitive superiority.
Knowledge discovery is the intended result of the process of analyzing or mining data for knowledge,
and, supply chain is the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and services in the hands of the ultimate customer. This paper explores how Knowledge discovery in a manufacturing and service industry with the use of IT can provide a competitive edge in the market. It outlines the use of computers in the optimum selection of operating parameters for a manufacturing plant which saves both time and money and improves the management of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as a whole. This paper also tries to highlight the significance of use of brainpower over muscle power and shows how intangible resources can provide an organization competitive superiority.
Presenters
Deepak G Kulkarni
(India)
Lecturer in Industrial and Human Resource Management.
Industrial Production Department
K. L. E. Society's College of Engineering and Technology.
Industrial Production Department
K. L. E. Society's College of Engineering and Technology.
1. Knowledge Management in Organizations- An Overview by Abhoy K Ojha (IIMB Management Review, December 2001)
2. Knowledge Management and Competitive Advantage by Rishikesh T Krishnan (IIMB Management Review, December 2001)
3. The Advent of Knowledge – based Products by
M Vishnuvardhan (Indian Management, April 2000)
4. www.kmresources.com
5. “Intellectual Capital- The New Wealth of Organizations” by Thomas. A. Stewart.
2. Knowledge Management and Competitive Advantage by Rishikesh T Krishnan (IIMB Management Review, December 2001)
3. The Advent of Knowledge – based Products by
M Vishnuvardhan (Indian Management, April 2000)
4. www.kmresources.com
5. “Intellectual Capital- The New Wealth of Organizations” by Thomas. A. Stewart.
Keywords
- Supply Chain
- Knowledge Management
- Strategy
- Intellectual Capital.
(Virtual Presentation,
English)