The Extended Enterprise: Gaining Competitive Advantage through Collaborative Supply Chains (Paperback)

~ (Author), Robert E. Spekman (Author) "This chapter introduces the concept of the extended enterprise and argues for the benefits of collaborative behavior among supply chain partners..." (more)
Key Phrases: extended enterprise thinking, extended enterprise managers, extended enterprise context, United States, Cisco Systems, Supply Chain Council (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

You can't compete and win alone. Today, constellations of firms ally against each other--and the firm that stands alone, may fail alone. Now there's a start-to-finish guide to the opportunities and challenges facing today's extended enterprise. In The Extended Enterprise, authors Edward W. Davis and Robert E. Spekman show why extended enterprises demand radically new buyer-supplier relationships, why traditional business structures inhibit alliances and partnerships, and how to develop the competencies your company needs right now.

Drawing on extensive research and new case studies, you get realistic strategies for planning, building, and managing the extended enterprise. You'll learn how to decide when to partner and who to partner with; align processes to improve information flow; and especially, develop people who'll work well across organizational boundaries. Above all, the authors offer deep insight into the attitudinal and behavioral changes that are needed in order to rapidly achieve results and sustain them for the long term.

From the Back Cover

You can't compete and win alone. Today, constellations of firms allyagainst each other--and the firm that stands alone, may fail alone.

Now there's a start-to-finish guide to the opportunities andchallenges facing today's extended enterprise. Edward W. Davis andRobert E. Spekman show why extended enterprises demand radically newbuyer-supplier relationships, why traditional business structuresinhibit alliances and partnerships, and how to develop the competenciesyour company needs right now.

Drawing on extensive research and new case studies, they offerrealistic strategies for planning, building, and managing the extendedenterprise. You'll learn how to decide when to partner and who topartner with; align processes to improve information flow; andespecially, develop people who'll work well across organizationalboundaries.

Beyond distrust, opportunism, and lip service The businessvalue--and the urgent necessity--of the extended enterprise

Criteria for success: what the research shows Why someextended enterprises succeed and others fail

Trust: the heart of the extended enterprise Specifictechniques for building trust with partners and allies

Building and strengthening the extended enterprise Developingeffective linkages, processes, structures, and dialogue

The role--and limits--of technology What enterprise softwarecan and can't do for your supply chain

Outsourcing in the extended enterprise Leveragingbest-in-breed capabilities--not just cost-reduction

Beyond traditional metrics What you need to measure now, andhow to measure it

Making partnerships and alliances work: new research, powerfulstrategies

• What to make, what to buy, what to borrow, and who to partnerwith
• Overcoming the key internal and external obstacles tosuccessful alliances
• Building trust and commitment acrossorganizations
• Optimizing processes, structures, andinformation flows
• Developing realistic long-term metrics forassessing your partnerships

The Extended Enterprise presents a complete strategicframework for identifying, entering, and managing enterprisepartnerships and alliances. Drawing on the field's latest research,Edward W. Davis and Robert E. Spekman demonstrate why strongpartnerships and alliances are no longer optional, why mostorganizations don't partner effectively, and what to do about it.

Davis and Spekman cover every facet of building the successfulextended enterprise: goals, people, processes, organizational structure,enterprise technology, information flows, metrics, and much more. Aboveall, they offer deep insight into the attitudinal and behavioral changesthat are needed in order to rapidly achieve results and sustain them forthe long term.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: FT Press (September 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130082740
• ISBN-13: 978-0130082749
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,205,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Typical Supply Chain Management, November 26, 2003

By	Tadd C Wilson "taddwilson" (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Davis and Spekman have written an excellent work that that takes two critical points of departure from traditional supply chain management (SCM) literature. First, Davis and Spekman link SCM with strategy, indicating that SCM (or any form of functional excellence) must be valued for its usefulness as a source of competitive advantage - not as an end in itself.

Second, and more importantly, Davis and Spekman emphasize the importance (and challenge) of true collaboration across enterprise boundaries. While supply chain integration is usually treated as a primarily a matter of gaining visibility or improving synchronization throughout a chain (ie, linking IT systems), Davis and Spekman show that true collaboration depends the integration of business processes and the creation of trust outside traditional enterprise barriers. In short, Davis and Spekman have elevated trust to the level of an absolutely necessary condition for true collaboration in the context of SCM.

Davis's and Spekman's message comes none too soon for companies that have been been burned by ERP or CRM system implementations that have failed to produce results or recover costs, or partnerships that dissolve in frustration. Even when the IT or business process aspects of such implementations are handled flawlessly, ignoring the "softer" side - i.e, failing to build trans-enterprise trust - produces predictable results and destroys shareholder value.

As a consultant dealing with issues surrounding SCM and external coordination, I recommend this book to executives, general managers, and other consultants whose clients struggle to integrate and collaborate across enterprise boundaries.