SCM

Scm is an acronym with multiple meanings in different fields. In business and information technology, it most commonly denotes Supply Chain Management or Software Configuration Management, sometimes written as SCM or ScM. The intended meaning is usually clear from context, but both domains share a focus on coordination, control, and information flow.

Software Configuration Management (SCM), also called Source Control Management, refers to the discipline of tracking and controlling changes to software artifacts. Core practices include version control, configuration identification, change and build management, and release management, all aimed at ensuring reproducible builds, traceability, and coordinated collaboration among developers. Key concepts include repositories, revisions, branches, tags, baselines, and audit trails, along with workflows for commits, merges, and reviews.

Historically, SCM progressed from local file versioning to centralized systems such as CVS and Subversion, and then to distributed systems like Git and Mercurial. Modern SCM tools enable multiple practitioners to work in parallel, manage conflicts, and reproduce historical states of a codebase. They are widely integrated with continuous integration and delivery pipelines.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the planning and management of the flow of goods, information, and finances across the network of suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and customers. Its core processes are plan, source, make, deliver, and return. Objectives include reducing cost, improving quality and speed, and increasing resilience and visibility. Technologies such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management systems (WMS), and transportation management systems (TMS) support these goals. The SCOR model and related metrics (lead time, inventory turnover, service level) are commonly used to measure performance.