Does your company push more than paper to drive its revenue? The process of manufacturing product and shipping the finished goods to their final destination requires the careful coordination of many, many steps. Supply chain management focuses on optimizing this process.

Supply chain management (SCM) describes a broad range of activities. It typically includes purchasing raw materials, manufacturing product, processing and shipping orders, handling returns, and reporting.

Consultants and software abound to help businesses improve any of these areas. One way they work is by optimizing a specific area. As an example, they can help lower expenses by negotiating shipping costs or improve supplier pricing.

Alternatively, SCM vendors can take a big-picture view of your supply chain. For instance, they can take a look at your overall supply chain and document the actual steps it takes to get from product creation to shipment. Then, they can work to reduce the number of steps, optimize the amount of time each step takes, and implement reporting to track how well the process is working.

What's the benefit? Increased profitability, for one. Every dollar you can save from your supply chain process drops right to your bottom line. In addition, you can reduce the amount of cash tied up in goods sitting in your warehouse because better information can allow you to better manage your inventory. Another benefit is that you can have more satisfied customers due to faster turnaround and more accurate order processing.

Fees for these services and software are all over the board. They can range from free to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Typically, you will find that software starts in the thousands of dollars, especially when you factor in installation and setup costs.

One of the greatest challenges you will face in working with a SCM vendor is to limit the scope of work performed. While vendors may be gung ho on overhauling your overall business, you will need to provide a constant reality check to determine its feasibility.

Focusing on your two to three biggest issues first can be a more effective use of your money and effort instead. When prioritizing issues, take the time to create a laundry list of issues that is not simply based on your opinion. Turning to your suppliers, staff members and customers for their take on your biggest challenges can be an incredibly eye-opening exercise.

Another is to avoid being bamboozled by buzzwords. Unfortunately, supply chain management has more than its fair share. "Business process reengineering," "velocity movement analysis," and "strategic logistics management" are just a few. Since there are no strict definitions of what each means, it is critical that you dive in and learn what a particular term means to a given vendor.

But don't let these five-dollar terms dissuade you from looking for help. Dig past those fancy words and you will find that taking the time to focus on this part of your business can make a lot of sense. And a whole lot of cents.