Logistics and Manufacturing Outsourcing: Harness Your Core Competencies

By James A. Tompkins, Steven W. Simonson, Bruce W. Tompkins, and Brian E. Upchurch

Tompkins Press, 2005

$24.95; 205 pages

ISBN: 1-930426-05-4

To order: visit www.tompkinsinc.com

Should you outsource? In today's complex business environment, the answer increasingly seems to be "yes." And yet, far too many outsourcing relationships fail.

The problem, according to a new book by Tompkins Associates, is that companies do not have a core competency in outsourcing. Instead, they try to handle outsourcing logistics or manufacturing as they would outsourcing landscaping services or the cafeteria's operations.

For this reason, Logistics and Manufacturing Outsourcing: Harness Your Core Competencies is a worthwhile resource for any supply chain manager—even those who are currently not investigating an outsourcing relationship. This straightforward guide walks readers through the decision-making process for what to outsource and—just as importantly—what not to outsource. It then moves smoothly into outlining the steps of the outsourcing process. It guides the reader through how to define outsourcing targets; send out a request for proposal; select a provider; create a relationship; and implement, manage, and maintain that relationship.

Most books about outsourcing these days view it from a very conceptual, high-level perspective. Or if they do discuss it on a practical level, they tend to focus on IT or human resources outsourcing. Tompkins Associates, however, is a consulting firm that has specialized in supply chain management for 30 years, and authors James Tompkins, Steven Simonson, Bruce Tompkins, and Brian Upchurch are all veterans at helping companies outsource their operations. In Logistics and Manufacturing Outsourcing, they lay out the strategy that Tompkins Associates has used with its clients for several years.

For the most part, the book avoids vague generalities. For example, when discussing outsourcing, everyone emphasizes the importance of defining what is core and what is noncore to your business. Logistics and Manufacturing Outsourcing, however, goes one step further by providing a model and a process for doing so. The book also helps stimulate thought by listing questions to consider when making the decision.

The book is well-crafted and moves at a brisk pace, often pausing to provide small, real-world case studies that back up its suggestions. Using this book as a guide will definitely help managers get one step closer to establishing a well-conceived outsourcing strategy and a robust outsourcing process.

Breakthrough Connective Technology: How RFID and Other Applications Are Revolutionizing the Supply Chain

By Pete Abell and Marshall Kay

CSCMP, 2005

$19.95 (CSCMP members), $39.95 (non-members); 24 pages

To order: visit www.cscmp.org

Supply chain professionals looking for an introductory overview on RFID and other emerging technology will find a helpful resource in this new publication from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). Breakthrough Connective Technology describes the new connective technology available today and explains how it can be used within the context of supply chain management.

In addition to RFID, the authors cover such emerging technologies as ultra wideband (UWB), mobile agents, and service-oriented architecture. There's also an instructive exposition on the data storage requirements associated with implementing the new technology.

Readers involved in export/import activities (which these days seems to encompass just about everybody) will benefit from the discussion of how connective technology can be used for tracking and tracing global freight moves. The brief glossary at the end of the publication hits all of the key terms associated with RFID and other connective technologies available today.