Supply Chains: A Manager's Guide (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

During the past twenty years, companies have reduced the time and cost of the manufacturing process. Now, they are attempting to streamline their supply chains in the same way, but they are struggling with this initiative. This shift in focus is quickly changing the nature of business competition. The battle is no longer company vs. company, it's supply chain vs. supply chain. The formula for winning this new battle is assembling a killer supply chain -- the one that, like those of Dell and WalMart, will let them deliver products to their customers faster, better, and cheaper than anyone else. Written by best-selling author David A. Taylor, this is a guide to understanding and solving the complex problems of supply chain management. Using Taylor's signature fast-track summaries, graphics, sidebars, and additional content and exercises on the CD-ROM and Web site, readers will easily grasp the critical insights into this demanding subject, and walk away knowing just what they need to know in order to contribute effectively to their company's supply chain success.

From the Back Cover

Today's fiercest business battles are taking place between competitors' supply chains, with victory dependent on finding a way to deliver products to customers more quickly and efficiently than the competition. For proof, just look to Dell and Amazon.com, both of which revolutionized their industries by changing how companies produce, distribute, and sell physical goods. But they're hardly alone. By revamping their supply chains, Siemens CT improved lead time from six months to two weeks, Gillette slashed $400 million of inventory, and Chrysler saved $1.7 billion a year.

It's a high-stakes game, and you don't have a lot of choice about playing: If your company touches a physical product, it's part of a supply chain--and your success ultimately hangs on the weakest link in that chain. In Supply Chains: A Manager's Guide, best-selling author David Taylor explains how to assemble a killer supply chain using the knowledge, technology, and tools employed in supply-chain success stories. Using his signature fast-track summaries and informative graphics, Taylor offers a clear roadmap to understanding and solving the complex problems of supply-chain management.

Modern manufacturing has driven down the time and cost of the production process, leaving supply chains as the final frontier for cost reduction and competitive advantage. Supply Chains: A Manager's Guide will quickly give managers the foundation they need to contribute effectively to their company's supply-chain success.

020184463XB10012003

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (October 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020184463X
• ISBN-13: 978-0201844634
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #427,977 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Tremendous Synthesis of a Complex Subject, October 28, 2003

By	Kevin Dick (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Many years ago, I picked up Taylor's _Object Technolog: A Manager's Guide_. I choose it, not because I didn't have the techical background to read the deep engineering treatments of the same topic, but because I wanted to save myself the time of ponderously sifting through arcane details to identify the key issues and important problems. With the invaluable map provided by that book, I was able to explore the details relevant to my circumstances much more efficiently. It was such a good map, that I kept copies in my briefcase to give to clients who needed the same type of conceptual guidance to wrap their heads around what was something of a revolution at the time.

_Supply Chains: A Manager's Guide_ is the same type of indispensable guide for navigating the world of supply chains. In the interests of full disclosure, I was one of the editorial reviewers of this book and Taylor was kind enough to take some of my suggestions. However, I read through several iterations and could have begged off at any point, but every iteration delivered new value. I've helped architect supply chain management software and have a fairly extensive background in the mathematic techniques used in supply chain analysis, so there weren't many individual facts in the book that I didn't already know. It was the orchestration of these facts and the conceptual synthesis that kept me reading every revision.

Even though I knew the facts, the book helped me see relationships that I'd missed and develop a higher level understanding of the challenges. This process inspired several good software product ideas. Moreover, I suddenly understood how I should be explaining these concepts to my clients. No doubt, copies of this book will also find their way into my briefcase for distribution.

This book won't improve on expert-level knowledge. In fact, I was amused to see one of the other reviewers here, who appeared to be such an expert, confuse Taylor with another author of the same name who focuses on detailed supply chain methdologies. But experts would do well to use it as an example of how to explain the topic to the very large audience of non-experts who need to understand how to improve the execution of supply chains they particpate in every single day. Of course, members of this vast pool of supply chain participants can just go directly to the source and read this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Non-Supply Chain Manager's Guide to Supply Chains, October 17, 2003

By	Joseph Henry (Trenton, NJ) - See all my reviews

I needed to get up to speed quickly on Supply Chains as I have now taken on management duties for an area that includes transport, shipping, etc. With no background (I come from marketing) the discussions seemed like an alien language and I felt I couldn't be effective, and worse, couldn't tell if what I was hearing was valid or excuses.

This book introduced me to the topic and helped me understand the key issues quickly. I still am not an expert on the field, but feel capable of following the issues and bringing judgement to the decisions I must make.

Overall, I would rate this book as an excellent way to parachute into a new subject and quickly learn the lay of the land. I feel that with this background I can delve more deeply into the subject with other more technical texts.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taylor delivers again., October 20, 2003

By	Adrian Bowles (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

A decade ago, I came across one of David Taylor's books on object technology. At the time, I had written and consulted on the topic extensively. However, reading his first "manager's guide" I felt like I imagine Salieri felt when he first encountered Mozart. The clarity of Taylor's writing (not to be confused with another David Taylor who has also written on Supply Chains) and the beautifully illustrated format put it clearly above the competition. For years, I have recommended his work to my clients and students. Now, with Supply Chains: A Manager's Guide, he's done it again.

As the title indicates, the book is written for a manager rather than a practitioner, and it delivers. Taylor, whose consulting work gives him extensive insights regarding the needs and knowledge of managers, has applied that wisdom to deliver another outstanding reference. In particular, I enjoyed his coverage of business modeling and the significance of collaboration. In my opinion, these sections alone would justify the purchase. Combine them with thorough discussions of management, measurement, and how the software components fit together, and the result is a valuable standalone tutorial and desk reference.

Unless you are an established authority on supply chains - the type of person who doesn't need to buy a book on the topic before giving a keynote, for example - you can't help but enjoy and learn something from this one.