The article discusses how supply chain management has evolved to include specialized areas like transportation and purchasing strategies. The supply chain is seen as a unified system made up of different parts working towards specific goals. Each element of the chain is modeled for optimization and treated as a separate economic entity capable of competing in the market. The paper explores the development of supply chain concepts, the importance of supply chain management, different models used, performance measures, design issues, decision-making processes, and the application of quantitative methods in supply chain management.