BETHESDA, Md. – AAIA has announced a new partnership with the Supply Chain Council. AAIA and the Supply Chain Council plan to make the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model and Supply Chain Benchmarking tool more accessible and affordable to AAIA members

The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model is a process reference that has been developed and endorsed as the cross-industry standard tool for supply-chain management. SCOR enables users to address, improve and communicate supply-chain management practices within and between all interested parties using common definitions. It is the guidebook to how top-performing organizations define, manage and benchmark supply chain processes around the world.

SCORmark is a comprehensive survey and benchmarking exercise that allows organizations to understand how they stack up against others on key SCOR metrics and learn the best practices of the best performers.

As a result of their new alliance, AAIA members qualify for member pricing on all training and publications of the Supply Chain Council. AAIA members are also eligible to participate in the SCORmark benchmarking survey at no charge.

"We often describe the vehicle aftermarket as an incredibly effective supply chain... and at the same time terribly inefficient," said Scott Luckett, AAIA vice president, technology standards and solutions. "The financial pressures are growing to eliminate waste and drive efficiency through collaboration and best practices. AAIA felt an important step to improving supply chain efficiency across the industry was to partner with the Supply Chain Council."

Joseph Francis, executive director, Supply Chain Council, added that, "AAIA participation in SCORmark benchmarking not only assists this industry segment in better understanding their strong and weak practices in relation to multiple organizations in multiple industries, but given enough participants in one segment, they can see how they compare to their own peers. Participation in SCOR training and benchmarking improves the world's supply chains as SCOR implementation dramatically improves supply chain efficiency and the ability to collaborate with customers and suppliers."

The financial impact of implementing the best practices in supply chain management can be many times greater than other cost-cutting measures, according to the association. In this challenging economy, it is critical for supply chain professionals at aftermarket suppliers and distributors to understand the SCOR model and implement the findings of SCORmark benchmarking, says AAIA.

To learn more about the exclusive benefits of the Supply Chain Council for AAIA members, visit the "Supply Chain" page under the "Technology" section at www.aftermarket.org.

For more information about the Supply Chain Council, visit www.supply-chain.org.