Write a 4 page essay on Contemporary Supply Chain Management.In the case chocolate the end user is the customer. So supply chain management of chocolate is the management of the process of buying of r

Write a 4 page essay on Contemporary Supply Chain Management.
In the case chocolate the end user is the customer. So supply chain management of chocolate is the management of the process of buying of raw materials, transportation, and processing, packing and delivering chocolate to the customer. Supply chain management can also be described as the flow of Goods or services from suppliers to the manufacturers then to the distributors and retailers and finally to the customers. Supply chain management entails production, distribution, purchasing, customer management, materials management and supplier management.
The supply chain for chocolate mainly starts with the farmers who grow cocoa. Normally these are normally small scale farmers who grow the plant in order for them and their families to earn a living. However, there are companies like rainforest alliance certified cocoa (RACC) that produce cocoa in large scale. When ripe pods containing cocoa beans are harvested and the cocoa beans are dried and fermented, (Beckett, 2011). This is the first stage of the supply chain.