Customer Reviews

Guide to Supply Chain Management: How Getting it Right Boosts Corporate Performance (Economist Books) (The Economist)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a novice to supply chain and often confused by conflicting definitions on what SCM is - and is not - read this book. If you are a supply chain practitioner and want some clear markers on designing a comprehensive supply chain strategy, read this book. David Jacoby's experience of over 20 years of strategic consulting on supply chain initiatives clearly comes through in this well-researched piece.

The book very quickly jumps into the 4 key supply chain strategies - cost rationalization, demand-supply synchronization, customization and innovation - that organizations can pursue. And highlights early on the often forgotten point that while we can classify any function within an organizational silo, activities within them cannot be similarly silo-ed if we want to derive value. For instance, we often lump DC-Network design and an initiative such as cross-docking under the warehousing function. But how many of us look at the former activity through the lens of cost rationalization, and the latter as an enabler of synchronization? Insights, such as this, abound.

The book frames the final few chapters with details on the organization structure, information systems framework and KPIs that must supplement each of these strategies. And that is when we truly comprehend the completeness of supply chain management.

My only grouse is that the book went into too much of theory and detail toward the end. Maybe it was intentional, given the wide range of audience it aims to cater to. But if you can stifle some of those yawns and plough on, you will be enriched with a wealth of knowledge on how you must design, strategize, implement, measure and enhance your supply chain.

I'll rate this 4 stars.

As a supply chain professional I found this book to be immensely helpful. It reduces important supply chain principles to to quantifiable and applicable guidelines. A good read and a must for anyone looking to leverage value from your supply chain.

I picked it up at home and get engrossed. OK, well, I am a geek and I took it to the beach to finish and felt kind of stupid (who reads The Guide to Supply Chain Management at the beach?!). But it was worth it and now I use the approach every day in my work.

This book is very informative for anyone wanting to know more about supply chain management. The examples cited, as well as the charts are extremely helpful. I believe anyone can benefit from reading this book, whether or not they have direct responsibility for managing supply chain activities.

This book describes very well the ins and outs of what the Supply Chain concept encompasses. It gives an excellent global understanding and is very rich of examples from real life situations. I warmly recommend its reading.

The concept of bringing supply chain management concepts together without getting too technical is very appealing, but the book is poorly written. The chapter section headers and the content do not match up.
It's a superficial concept calling without proper linkage. A lot of - duh - reactions guaranteed.

This is a great book that provides a concise yet thorough overview of supply chain management. It is educational and actionable - filled with well-supported arguments and excellent, illustrative anecdotes. The book is not just for supply chain professionals, it is for any business person that wants to help take their company to the next level. Having read it and written notes in the margins, I will keep it nearby as a reference guide.

This book is great. I did not know that The Economist had a series of Guides like this. There are so many brilliant diagrams, charts, and tables that I have post-its on about 50 pages and have the book on my shelf for easy access.