1. Discuss the current supply chain system at DIMCO.

Durham International Manufacturing Company manufactures a variety of consumer electronic products, from hair dryers to humidifiers to massagers. Currently DIMCO uses approximately 1350 different components and/or raw materials in manufacturing its products line. Those components and raw materials are purchased from approximately 375 different suppliers, which we can call them external suppliers, the first component of a company’s supply chain structure.
Then, after the company’s internal functions, DIMCO sends its finished products to a central warehouse that supplies 10 regional distribution centers, which 6 are domestic and 4 are located outside of the US. Each one of these distribution centers supplies an average of 12 local distributors that each supplies an average of 35 retailers. DIMCO supply chain can be summarized by the figure below:

2. Discuss the advantages that DIMCO can gain by implementing supply chain management.

Supply Chain Management is the vital business function that coordinates and manages all the activities of the supply chain linking suppliers, transporters, internal departments, third-party companies, and information systems. The advantages DIMCO can gain with supply chain management are coordinating the movement of goods through the supply chain from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to the final customers; and sharing relevant and accurate information such as sales forecasts, sales data, and promotional campaigns among members of the chain.
Is another advantage of implementing supply chain management the chance to avoid the called Bullwhip effect, which causes erratic replenishment orders placed on different levels in the supply chain that have no apparent link to final product demand.
The greater the number of levels in the supply chain, the further