Supply Chain Management (SCM) is not a buzzword like many others in
management and IT - it is here to stay. "Megatrends" such as
globalization and increasing specialization result in a complex division
of labor at national and international levels. Lean and agile supply
chains have become a major management target, and the
interorganizational coordination of business processes has become highly
relevant. The complexity of today's supply chains cannot be mastered
without the support of powerful information systems. SAP has established
itself as the market leader in this type of IT systems. The book
describes SCM using a pyramidal framework and relates it to the SAP SCM
Solution Map. Desired features of IT support for SCM are formulated, and
the extent to which SAP systems provide these features is shown. We
describe the functionalities of SAP APO(TM) in detail, present case
studies on implementing and running SAP SCM(TM) systems, and discuss SCM
aspects of the new SAP Business ByDesign(TM) approach.