Is the movement of information and money as critical in supply chain as the movement of materials? Why?

"Critical" is a term used for any resource (i.e., as per your question - information, money and materials) that will impact the project timeline. In a given scenario, whichever of the following: information, money and material is impacting the project by stretching it beyond it's planned (approved) finish date should be considered as critical. For example, in some cases, the materials are held at customs causing a delay in your project - unless you receive the information soon and act promptly to solve the matter, the chances are a critical task is sliding beyond its due date. In a scenario such as this one cannot prioritize effective communication over required resources. Both are important for a successful completion of the project. 

Yes it is.

Any organization has 5 main elements: Human Resources (most important); Technical Resources (Technology); Natural Resources (mining; wood industry, etc; etc.); Financial Resources ($$$) and Information Resources (ICT - in real time).

It is crucial to know in real time "Who needs What, Where and When" to make and efficient How.

Regards,

JCG.

Thank you for this great question.

A smart supply chain Manager would only move material as a result of the movement of information and the movement of money, therefore; to answer your question, Would you move an item from point A to point B without getting enough info?

The flow of information is equally important in the normal situations and more important in others. an example would be when we moved 3000MT of an item to Jeddah on april 2017 as a result of good info on an immediate requirement for one of the biggest customers for that item, what made it a kill deal is that we won the deal as traders and the manufacturer himself lost it due to time limitations.

Hope it helps you!

Experts explained very well and agreed with them.

Information Updation/Flow is very important in Supply Chain. Without Information,

Planning is not possible. Money is an important resource in SCM it can be invested 

in the form of Technology, Transaction etc...

SC is about information conveying so it is as important as moving other stuff like money and material.

If you fail to deliver and convey information in a SC cycle to the next cycle then it would not be a chain at all and it is so important to keep track from the up-stream to the down-stream in this regard.

I agree with all experts answers.

Supply Chain is the management of flows. There are Five major flows in any supply chain : product flow, financial flow, information flow, value flow & risk flow.

The financial and economic aspect of supply chain management (SCM) shall be considered from two perspectives. First, from the cost and investment perspective and second aspect based on from flow of funds. Costs and investments add on as moving forward in the supply chain.  The optimization of total supply chain cost, therefore, contributes directly (and often very   significantly) to   overall profitability.  Similarly, optimization of supply chain investment contributes to the optimisation of return on the capital employed in a company. In a supply chain, from the ultimate consumer of the product back down through the chain there will be flow of funds. Financial funds (Revenues) flow  from  the  final consumer, who  is usually the only source of “real” money in  a  supply  chain,  back  through   the other   links  in   the   chain   (typically retailers,  distributors,  processors  and suppliers).

In any organization, the supply chain has both Accounts Payable (A/P) and Accounts Receivable (A/R) activities and includes payment schedules, credit, and additional financial arrangements – and funds flow in opposite directions: receivables (funds inflow) and payables (funds outflow). The working capital cycle also provides a useful representation of financial flows in a supply chain. Great opportunities and challenges therefore lie ahead in managing financial flows in supply chains. The integrated management of this flow is a key SCM activity, and one which has a direct impact on the cash flow position and profitability of the company.

THE INFORMATION FLOW :

Supply chain management involves a great deal of diverse information–bills of materials, product data, descriptions and pricing, inventory levels, customer and order information, delivery scheduling, supplier and distributor information, delivery status, commercial documents, title of goods, current cash flow and financial information etc.–and it can require a lot of communication and coordination with suppliers, transportation vendors, subcontractors and other parties. Information flows in the supply chain are bidirectional. Faster and better information flow enhances Supply Chain effectiveness and Information Technology (IT) greatly transformed the performance.