What is SCOR? A model to improve supply chain management

Supply chain management (SCM) is a critical focus for companies that sell products, services, hardware, and software. The supply chain includes everything involved in the flow of goods from a business to its customers, clients, or other businesses. It’s not something that can be set up and left alone — your supply chain needs to be regularly evaluated so it stays efficient and productive. That’s where the SCOR model comes in.

What is the SCOR model?

The SCOR model is designed to evaluate your supply chain for effectiveness and efficiency of sales and operational planning (S&OP). SCM is complex, and S&OP implementation can be difficult, but the SCOR model is intended to help standardize the process and create a measurable way to track results. It works across industries using common definitions that apply to any supply chain process. Using the SCOR model, businesses can judge how advanced or mature a supply chain process is, and how well it aligns with business goals.

What is the main focus of the SCOR model?

Originally developed in 1996 by management consulting firm Pittiglio, Rabin, Todd and McGrath (PRTM), SCOR is endorsed by the Supply-Chain Council, which is now part of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), formerly known as APICS. The original SCOR framework, also vetted by Intel, IBM, Rockwell Semiconductor, and Procter & Gamble, was designed to help streamline the language used to describe supply chain management, categorizing it into four processes: plan, source, make, and deliver; the return and enable steps were added later. The most recent version of the framework, SCOR 12.0, was released in 2017 by the ASCM.