Today, for large multinational corporations (MNCs) to build or maintain their competitive advantage, effective global supply chain management methods are required to to evaluate their raw resources, their inventories and the productivity of their factories. Multinationals are turning to global sourcing for several reasons, including: scarcity or high cost of local raw materials, low labor costs in developing countries, and to increase their market share in new geographic areas. Effective global supply chain management is literally the lifeblood of a multinational corporation that produces goods to be sold around the world. Building an effective global supply chain involves the integration and coordination of common materials, processes, designs, technologies and suppliers in global purchasing, design and supply. operating sites (Trent, 2005). Managing the global supply chain poses many challenges that will be examined, including cultural differences, language, regional and government laws and regulations, and the design and integration of global information infrastructure (GII). In addition, the risk assessment of possible disruptions in the supply chain will also be examined. Managing cultural and language differences Every large multinational has within itself a defined culture, which has been developed by top management (Schein, 1985). It is the responsibility of top-level leaders to manage and sometimes change the cultural values ​​within the organization to better adapt to a changing environment, for example by moving to a different geographic area with different cultural values ​​( Schein, 1985). Leaders must effectively manage both language and culture to maintain an efficient flow of raw materials, assembly and product shipments throughout the supply chain. Management is...... middle of paper ......Cultures. Retrieved from: http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/managing-in-an-era-of-multiple-cultures/ Rolland, KH and Monteiro, E. (2002). Balancing the local and the global in infrastructural information systems. The Information Society, 18(2), 87-100. Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Selig, G. (1982). Strategic planning approaches for information resource management (IRM) in multinational companies. MIS Quarterly, 6(2), 33-45. Trent, R. J. (2005). Achieving excellence in global sourcing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(1), 24-32. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224962244?accountid=38569 Waples, E. and Norris, D. M. (1992). Cross-border information systems and data flows. Retrieved from: http://faculty.usfsp.edu/gkearns/Articles/Information%20Systems%20and%20Transborder%20Data%20Flow.htm