Strategic Supply Chain Management: The Five Disciplines for Top Performance

Shoshanah Cohen and Joseph Roussel

McGraw-Hill, 2005

$39.95, 316 pages

ISBN 0-07-143217-5

To order: visit www.books.mcgraw-hill.com or major online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Strategic Supply Chain Management is a three-in-one package: (1) an examination of the five core principles that the authors say are fundamental to supply chain success; (2) a series of well-researched case studies; and (3) a roadmap for supply chain progress. That's a lot to pack into 300-plus pages. But the authors have done a good job of pulling it off and delivering a highly accessible book on supply chain theory and practice.

For PRTM consultants Shoshanah Cohen and Joseph Roussel, five key activities—the "core disciplines"—are fundamental to achieving any measure of supply chain success. Most of these principles we've heard about before... view your supply chain as a strategic asset, design your organization for high performance, use metrics to drive business success. The value of this book is that it clearly explains why the principles are so important and how they relate to one another. The discussion of the fifth core principle—using metrics to drive success—is especially robust. It states the case for balanced supply chain measures and then lays out a four-step plan for choosing and implementing the right measures. Summary graphics relate real-world metrics to specific performance attributes, giving readers some practical resources they can turn to when developing supply chain metrics for their organization.

The case studies used to illustrate the principles in action span a range of business sectors—from Avon Products, to Eli Lilly, to General Motors. These case examples are well-researched and filled with enough anecdotes and inside information to bring them to life. More importantly, the lessons learned from the supply chain initiatives launched by these organizations come through loud and clear for readers.

Strategic Supply Chain Management concludes by presenting a "roadmap to change"—intended as a framework for creating an integrated supply chain that builds on the five principles articulated earlier. The information presented here is valuable and certainly will get readers headed in the right direction in terms of building their supply chain capabilities. But it's really just a start. The formidable task of true integration requires considerably more guidance and detail than what's presented here. (Maybe this could be the subject of a follow-up book from the PRTM consultants?)

For readability and a clear expression of what supply chain management is all about, this book deserves high marks. Plus, there's solid practical information that readers can put into practice today that will start paying returns almost immediately. For these reasons and more, Strategic Supply Chain Management is a solid addition to any supply chain manager's library.

Extending the Supply Chain: How Cutting-Edge Companies Bridge the Critical Last Mile into Customers' Homes

Kenneth Karel Boyer, Markham T. Frohlich, and G. Thomas M. Hult

AMACOM, 2005

$34.95, 252 pages

ISBN: 0-8144-0836-2

To order: visit www.amacombooks.org

As we enter 2005, readers may wonder, what's the point in picking up a book about Internet-enabled home delivery? After all, hasn't Amazon already shown us how to do it, while the "dot-bombs" showed us how not to do it? What more can be said?

The answer, according to Kenneth Karl Boyer, Markham T. Frolich, and G. Thomas Hult—all of Michigan State University—is quite a bit. In Extending the Supply Chain, they claim that many companies are still missing the possibilities of using the Internet to extend the supply chain that critical last mile into consumers' homes. According to the authors, companies are ignoring the model's ability to allow them to provider higher quality customer service at a premium price.

To their credit, the authors look directly at one of the most difficult markets for home delivery: grocery. If home delivery can be implemented profitably in the grocery industry with its ultra-tight margins, then it can also be extended to other retailers and manufacturers, the authors maintain.

According to Extending the Supply Chain, the reason why companies such as WebVan failed was because their marketing and supply chain strategies were not aligned. Marketing promised what operations could not provide—goods delivered to the home at a price comparable to what consumers saw in the store. This failure can be avoided by promising what operations really can provide—more convenience and time savings but at a higher price.

The authors outline four models for meeting the final-mile delivery challenge. The "decoupled supply chain" involves order fulfillment at the distribution center and delivery using a third-party provider. With the "semi-extended supply chain," customers order online but orders are fulfilled and then picked up at the store. In the "fully extended supply chain," orders are picked at the store but delivered at home by the company's own delivery staff. Finally, the "centralized extended supply chain" has company employees picking orders at a centralized DC and then delivering them to the customer's home.

The book does an excellent job of using real-world case studies and research for each of the four models. It also outlines the strengths and drawbacks of each model and specifies what types of product would work best for each. The book only falters in the later chapters when it tries to outline how companies can create an aligned marketing and supply chain strategy. Here the book lacks the concrete details, practical advice, and breezy writing style that made the first half so strong.

Overall, however, the authors do a good job on taking a fresh, very real-world based look at what was, just a few years ago, an overplayed subject.

A Practioner's Guide to 101+ Actions to Improve Transportation and Logistics Performance

Edward J. Marien and Lee Cisneros

Pigwick Papers, 2004

$28.95, 130 pages

ISBN: 0-9754243-0-0

To order: visit www.pigwickpapers.com

In these highly competitive times, any way to save a buck should be welcome information—especially when the buck comes out of transportation costs. Edward Marien and Lee Cisneros's A Practioner's Guide to 101+Actions to Improve Transportation and Logistics Performance, therefore, should be warmly received by logistics and supply chain managers looking to shave some dollars off the bottom line.

This spiral-bound booklet contains a quick reference list of practical, concrete tips for managing transportation costs. The authors provide an action item—such as "get involved earlier in order planning and administration"—and a brief explanation and/or real-life example of that action. Several of the action items include helpful checklists, such as policies for transportation performance analysis, 10 consolidation opportunities, and 10 ways to slash parcel-shipping costs. The authors do a good job of identifying what level (senior executive, middle manager, or lower-level associate in traffic, shipping and receiving, and accounting) should perform the action.

The guide divides the action list into four main categories: strategic, tactical planning, operational execution, and analysis. They range from high-level efforts such as "require that logistics, marketing, manufacturing, and purchasing collaborate in making total company logistics decisions" to more granular steps like "avoid penalties by the U.S. Treasury for stating incorrect values for transfer prices of goods." Other helpful tools packed into the 130-page guide include a worksheet that lets readers review and identify the actions that are the most promising for their particular company, steps for prioritizing and selecting actions, and a glossary of acronyms and terms.

The writing may be a little rough around the edges in places, but the author's make up for this in the wealth of experience that they bring to the guide. Marien is a professor and director of supply chain, transportation, and purchasing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's executive education program, and Cisneros is a consultant with Transportation Consulting Associates and the former director of physical distribution for Cabot Corp. and The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

The reader benefits from this condensation of their many years in the industry. It's probable that even the most veteran supply chain manager will be able to glean at least one action from the list that they can start implementing today.