Customer Reviews

Supply Chain Optimization: Building the Strongest Total Business Network

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

 

 

The main point of this book is: all constituents in the supply chain must work together to achieve mutual benefits. This is repeated 2000 times with different words. Quite an accomplishment in verbosity, but certainly not worth the money. The authors introduce an outdated three-step model and introduce a fourth level, the supplier of the supplier, and call it a new "model", an insult to the reader's intelligence.

An informative guide to supply chain management, particularly for newcomers like myself. Introduction to the conceptual framework, relationship management issues and jargon are the key takeaways. A reader will be fully conversant on supply chain management matters after finishing the book.

As for shortcomings, this book could have been written in a third less print, the job of a disciplined editor. While I understand business books need some heft, brevity is under-rated in this category. Repetition is rampant in this book. After the much needed tightening, a chapter on supply chain management for new or smaller businesses would be a welcome addition.

That being said, I happily lend this book to friends and colleagues, the most practical compliment to a book's authors.

Authors Charles C. Poirier and Stephen E. Reiter envision a trip down your supply chain like an effortless sail on calm seas. Your organization can reach this placid efficiency, they explain, by forming partnerships with suppliers and others in your business network. But the authors don't ask you to take their word; instead they present detailed case studies of companies that have implemented supply-chain optimization strategies and reaped prodigious benefits. The book's only flaw is its style. It is densely written and often weighed down by prose as murky as a rural delivery system and twice as difficult to penetrate. But we [...] recommend that business owners, corporate managers, executives and logisticians of all levels take the time required to patiently excavate the practical and pragmatic information that lies within.

Good introductory book to the concepts. One of the first and still one of the best. But you must understand that Supply Chain management was in it's infancy at the time this book was written. Technology has changed and Supply Chain management is much more standard now. Still, the concepts remain germaine. A good primer.

The authors chose the wrong title, I guess. I agree with first review that this book is not worth time nor money. How could we optimize problem with "verbal"? We all need "solutions" -not "suggestion", even though suggestion is transformed from solution. Still, quantitative analysis comes before explaination for optimization. Look for another book unless you want to spend somes bucks to get the book.

This book is a "must-read" for anyone in the business of supply chain management! The partnering and networking chapters are well worth the price. Highly recommended!