By introducing the meanings of supply chain, value chain and activity-based costing, this paper expounds the internal relations among them, and puts forward effective measures for organically combining the three, so as to find a new way for modern enterprises to carry out cost management and improve their competitiveness.

Keywords: supply chain; Value chain; Activity-based costing

This paper introduces the supply chain, value chain and activity-based costing. Then, the internal relationship between them is expounded, and the effective measures of organic combination of the three are put forward. Finally, the new ways of modern enterprise cost management and improving enterprise competitiveness are obtained.

Keywords: supply chain; Value chain; Activity-based costing

First, the relationship between supply chain and value chain

1, meaning of supply chain

Supply chain is a functional network chain structure around core enterprises, which connects suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and end users into a whole by controlling information flow, logistics and capital flow. Starting from purchasing raw materials, it manufactures intermediate products and final products, and finally delivers products to consumers through sales network. Supply chain management is to optimize the operation of the supply chain, so that all processes of the supply chain, including workflow, physical logistics, capital flow and information flow, can operate efficiently at the lowest cost and deliver the appropriate products to consumers timely and accurately at reasonable prices. Its basic idea is to optimize the total cost of enterprises and meet the needs of customers.

2, the meaning of the value chain

The concept of value chain was first put forward in 1985 by American scholar Michael Porter in his book Competitive Advantage. He believes that value activities are activities that enterprises engage in with clear economic and technological boundaries, and are the basis for creating products that are valuable to buyers. These interrelated value activities jointly create profits for enterprises, thus forming the value chain of enterprises. Including internal value chain, vertical value chain and horizontal value chain. Its research content involves the relationship between core enterprises, enterprises and suppliers, distributors, service providers and customers, as well as the competitive relationship between enterprises in the industry. Value chain analysis can fully understand the contribution of enterprise value activities to product profits, which is conducive to cultivating the ability of enterprises to continuously reduce costs.

3. The relationship between supply chain and value chain

(1) Relationship between supply chain and value chain

First, the supply chain is also a value chain. Supply chain is not only a logistics chain, an information chain and a capital chain connecting suppliers and users, but also a value-added chain. Materials in the supply chain increase in value due to economic activities such as processing, packaging and transportation, which brings benefits to related enterprises. From the perspective of value-added economic activities, it constitutes the value chain of enterprises. Therefore, supply chain and value chain are both value-added chains, and supply chain is also a value chain.

Second, both the value chain and the supply chain emphasize customer-centric and market-oriented. Enterprises influence the buyer's value chain through their own value chain, thus reducing the buyer's cost and improving the buyer's benefit. Therefore, the ultimate focus of enterprise value activities lies in customer value chain. Supply chain is the integration of information technology, extending to customers and end users. In order to take the customer's needs as the center of enterprise operation, we can obtain customer information in real time, understand customer's needs, react quickly and make correct decisions, so as to gain competitive advantage.

Third, the supply chain and the value chain * * * both exist in the enterprise's value system, * * * depends on the enterprise's organizational management system, * * * cultivates the core competitiveness of the enterprise, and * * * manages and operates business processes (logistics, capital flow, information flow, etc. ) companies.

(2) the difference between supply chain and value chain

As two different management ideas of modern enterprises, there must be some differences between supply chain and value chain, as shown in the following table:

To sum up, both supply chain and value chain are in the enterprise's value system, and bear similar functions (coordinating and optimizing the relationship between value activities) in different positions (within and between enterprises). Therefore, the value chain and supply chain can be effectively integrated into the value system. The generalized value chain system can be understood as consisting of internal value chain and supply chain. The value chain can determine the supply chain, and the supply chain also serves and obeys the value chain. The competition between enterprises is not only the competition between value chains, but also the competition between supply chains.

Second, the organic combination of supply chain, value chain and activity-based costing

1, the meaning of activity-based costing

Activity-based costing is based on the theory of "cost driver", which holds that products consume activities and activities consume resources. Therefore, cost allocation is divided into two processes. Firstly, through the confirmation and measurement of resource drivers, the resource cost is collected in various activities, and then the activity cost is collected in the cost object, that is, the product or business. Activity-based costing (ABC) takes "activity" as the intermediate link of indirect cost to the cost object, which not only makes the cost accounting information more scientific and accurate, but also finds a more scientific indirect cost allocation method and realizes a major breakthrough in traditional cost accounting.

Implementing activity-based costing is a powerful weapon for enterprises to reduce costs. The "activity-based revolution" triggered by it has brought about a qualitative change in cost management and played an irreplaceable fundamental role in management theory and practice.

2. Integration of supply chain, value chain and activity-based costing.

If the economic activities of each node based on the supply chain are regarded as a series of "operations", these operations will form an organically linked "activity chain", and the output of the operations will form a certain value, so the formation of activity chain is manifested in the formation of the value chain. Therefore, the three can be organically combined to serve the core competitiveness of enterprises and complement each other.

Activity-based costing makes the calculation object of cost more detailed and accurate by introducing the intermediate link of "activity". Its focus is to find out the cost drivers of each activity and take measures to reduce costs. However, it does not take into account the interrelationship between various activities and the correlation between the cost and value of each activity. If we simply reduce the activity cost, it may lead to the decline of product value, which may eventually lead to the decline of enterprise competitiveness. Value chain management is guided by customer demand, with the goal of realizing value appreciation and enhancing enterprise competitiveness. By using modern enterprise management methods and technologies, the information flow, logistics and capital flow in the whole supply chain can be effectively planned and controlled. Under the guidance of the value chain theory, only by making full use of the integrated management technology of supply chain and giving full play to the overall cooperation ability of the whole supply chain is an effective way for enterprises to maintain their competitive advantage.

It can be seen from the above that the advantage of activity-based costing lies in the internal cost control of enterprises, while the advantages of value chain management and supply chain management lie in the appreciation of enterprise value and the cultivation of core competitiveness. The organic combination of the three can not only reduce the product cost, but also improve the product value, thus forming the core competitiveness of enterprises.

Three, supply chain, value chain and activity-based costing organically combined measures

Conduct supply chain analysis and activity chain analysis. Through supply chain analysis and activity chain analysis, we can fully understand and master the situation of upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain and their internal operation processes. Supply chain cost management involves many links, and the behaviors of product design engineers, customers, suppliers and manufacturers have great influence on the cost, so it is necessary to analyze the activities in the supply chain to reduce the total cost.

Conduct value chain analysis. On the basis of supply chain analysis and activity chain analysis, this paper quantitatively describes and determines the process of value formation and transfer among enterprises, suppliers, customers and activity chain in the whole supply chain, that is, carries out value chain analysis. Through analysis, we can find out the proportion and growth trend of enterprise supply chain value in total cost, determine the structure of value activities in each link of activity chain, correctly distinguish value-added activities from non-value-added activities, and further optimize enterprise value chain.

Effectively control costs through activity-based costing. Firstly, the supply chain activity-based costing method is calculated, and the cost of each activity is calculated. Through the confirmation and measurement of activity-based cost, it provides a basis for further improving activity-based cost management. Secondly, a dynamic improvement scheme is proposed. Using the data of activity-based costing, from the customer's point of view, further improve value-added activities. Finally, the performance is evaluated. Evaluate the operation from the aspects of efficiency, quality and time, and evaluate whether it has increased the profitability of customers.

Constantly maintain and consolidate the cost advantage and realize the durability of the cost advantage. Only when the cost advantage of an enterprise can be maintained for a long time, and its source is difficult for competitors to imitate, can an enterprise truly have the cost advantage with strategic value, and the ultimate goal of cost management lies in this.