Supply Chain

A supply chain is the full sequence of organizations and steps involved in producing and delivering a good or service, from raw materials to the final buyer. It includes suppliers, factories, logistics firms, warehouses, wholesalers and retailers, as well as the flows of information and money that connect them. Managing one means balancing cost, speed and the right level of inventory. Disruptions such as the shipping and component shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic showed how a problem in one link can spread worldwide, and are tracked by measures such as the Global Supply Chain Stress Index. Banks support supply chains through trade finance and supply chain finance. In software, the term also describes the chain of code suppliers behind an application, which is the target of a supply chain attack.