supply chain

American  

[suh-plahy chayn] / səˈplaɪ ˌtʃeɪn /

noun

• supply chains
  plural

1. the series of growers, manufacturers, distributors, shippers, etc., involved in producing goods of a particular kind and bringing them to market.

   A typical supply chain from fiber to garment has up to seven players spread across the globe—more, if processes like dyeing or printing are subcontracted.

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supply chain British  

noun

1. marketing a channel of distribution beginning with the supplier of materials or components, extending through a manufacturing process to the distributor and retailer, and ultimately to the consumer

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• supply chains
  plural

Etymology

Origin of supply chain

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

supply chain

On the agenda were topics ranging from cybersecurity at a time of increasing geopolitical risk, to financial crime policy as a national security tool, to digital sovereignty in the tech supply chain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Exports from South Korea are still rising, in part reflecting solid prices for advanced memory chips, while prices for other electronics along the AI hardware supply chain have started to cool, they note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Smaller businesses developed, while established engineering and technology firms became part of the supply chain.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

"We're talking about 377 jobs on site - we will be talking about thousands of jobs in the wider supply chain," said Leishman.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Glocer is a pioneer in the outsourcing of elements of the news supply chain.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman