The Channel Advantage: How Top Companies Connect with Their Customers

Steven Wheeler and Evan Hirsch

Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999

212 pages, $35

To order: Call (800) 956-7739 or visit www.josseybass.com

Build a better mousetrap, the old adage says, and the world will beat a path to your door. If you believe that, say the authors of this book, don't expect to be in business long. Competitors will produce similar mousetraps overnight. Then others will develop still better mousetraps. Wait for the world, and you'll wait alone.

In The Channel Advantage, Stephen Wheeler and Evan Hirsch argue cogently that competing through product differentiation is becoming increasingly difficult. The combination of increased global competition and rapid technological change has shortened product life cycles and limited companies' ability to differentiate products. The competition can copy or improve upon new products almost overnight. In this environment, they argue, "control of the channel rather than control of the product becomes paramount." How companies manage their channels is fast becoming (and in many industries, already is) the key to business success.

The authors provide ample evidence of how companies have leapt to the top of their markets by leveraging channel management to cut costs, improve service, and connect with their customers. Like many other writers who have explored this important topic, they cite Dell Computer's success over the Internet. They also pay homage to the "Channel Champions"—companies that invent and manage their channels to beat the competition.

The authors make it clear that the book is not intended to be a primer on channel management. Rather, the aim is to provide managers with a new way of thinking about their own competitive marketplaces. The authors underscore that channel management extends well beyond marketing and logistics. It involves all of the functions and processes associated with customer interaction.

In the first section of the book, Wheeler and Hirsch make the case for focusing on channel management. In section two, they provide a framework for managing and continually refining channels. The last section looks at potential pitfalls—how to avoid them and keep ahead of competitors. The final chapter takes on what has become de rigueur in business texts today—a discussion of electronic commerce. Amid all the hype over Internet sales, the authors stress the need to closely link electronic initiatives to strategic objectives.

The Channel Advantage is the fourth in Booz-Allen & Hamilton's Strategy & Business book series. The authors, both vice presidents of the firm, have long experience in industry consulting. Wheeler specializes in channel and marketing strategy, implementation, and organization. Hirsch focuses on strategic marketing, business unit strategy, and performance improvement in the automotive and other industries.

Who's Who in Logistics? Armstrong's Guide to Third Party Logistics Services Providers, 7th edition

Armstrong & Associates Inc., 1999

Two volume set, 414 pages, $245 (print version), $695 (electronic version plus print version)

ISBN No. 1-891645-03-X

To order: Call (800) 525-3915 or visit www.3PLogistics.com

Who's Who in Logistics? serves as a useful guide for companies planning to outsource their logistics activities to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider. This semiannual guide contains listings and brief profiles of 113 logistics companies, including international freight forwarders, regional providers, and logistics software vendors.

Each of the profiles includes a wide range of general information on the company, including its areas of specialization; information systems; and transportation, warehousing, and other value-added services provided. Many of the profiles are supplemented by news items and case studies drawn mostly from company press releases and trade magazine articles. The focus of these profiles is informational with little critical evaluation of the provider.

The section on software systems vendors, however, offers more analysis. In addition to factual information on the types, capability, and cost of the software, each profile outlines the system's strengths and describes how it compares to other systems.

This seventh edition of the guide has expanded to two volumes in order to include new features, such as a white paper on "Finding the Right 3PL."

Net Future

Chuck Martin

McGraw Hill, 1999

ISBN No. 0-07-041131-X

289 pages, $24.95

To order: Call (800) 262-4729 or visit www.mcgraw-hill.com

One of the great risks in writing a book about electronic business is that any predictions may be outdated before the publication is released. The world of the dot-coms is changing far too rapidly for anything like contemplative analysis.

Net Future, a new book by Chuck Martin, falls victim to that problem in certain respects and avoids it in others. The electronic future he describes has in some ways already come to pass. Martin, who is president of Net Future Institute, was aware of the risk. His goal in this publication is broader than merely describing the emerging electronic marketplace. Instead, he sets out to analyze how e-Commerce business may transform the very nature of business and work. He also offers some suggestions for business leaders who will have to grapple with those changes.

Martin argues that electronic commerce is not merely a new sales channel that concerns the marketing department only. He describes e-Business as the "'Netting' of the entire value chain." That analysis has implications for supply chain managers, of course—electronic communication is crucial to supply chain efficiency. But in Martin's view, the effects of electronic business will be far more profound.

Some of what is suggested covers old ground. For instance, the first of the "cybertrends"—that consumers will expect faster delivery, easier transactions, and more factual information—is already well underway, if not widespread. For some time now, businesses have been grappling with how to manage that expectation. Further, his description of the cybertrends as showing "an interlocking series of relationships among customers, employees, distributors, suppliers, and business partners" does no more than describe the vision of the supply chain often articulated in this and other magazines.

Perhaps that's being somewhat unfair to the author. After all, business practices still lag well behind the theories, and only a relative handful of companies are developing the nimble business models necessary to thrive amid rapid and unceasing change. Indeed, Martin's analysis can serve as a good starting place for the vast majority of business people—most of whom know (or should know) that the electronic revolution is upon them. The insights presented here can help them understand what the "net" future means to them and their businesses—and how to effectively respond.

Supply Chain Management Software Report, 1998–2003

AMR Research, 1999

56 pages, no charge

To order: Contact Gerard Feeney at (617) 542-6600 or visit gfeeney@amrresearch.com

Professionals trying to understand the supply chain management software market face a complex and constantly changing environment marked by mergers, acquisitions, and new partnerships. In Supply Chain Management Software Report, 1998–2003, AMR Research takes on this dynamic market and presents a clear and succinct overview of the major players, trends, and financial situation.

The report briefly highlights several major industry trends. It discusses the continuing consolidation of once-independent supply chain applications, whether through internal efforts, partnerships, or mergers. It also notes the industry's growth in the nonmanufacturing sector as well as the significant gains made by Windows NT Operating System and MS SQL Server.

The report devotes much attention to a financial analysis of the market for 1998, ranking companies both by total revenue and by license revenue. The analysis reveals a market still going through growing pains as it reaches a critical mass and competition heats up. It discusses why the growth rate—although healthy—slowed for 1998 and how ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP and PeopleSoft, increasingly are penetrating the market. The study further breaks the market down into the two categories of Supply Chain Planning software and Supply Chain Execution software and contrasts the position and direction of the two segments.

AMR admits that it cannot predict which companies will rank in the market's top 10 in the coming years. The report, however, does look closely at current industry leaders. Also discussed are broad trends for the future, including the increasing presence of ERP vendors and the possible rollout of Web-based applications.

In general, this booklet provides a good overview for those seeking to get a better grasp of the present and future world of supply chain technology.

The Next Common Sense: Mastering Corporate Complexity Through Coherence

Michael Lissack and Johan Roos

Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 1999

232 pages, $25

ISBN No. 1-85788-240-7

To order: Call (888) 273-2539 or visit www.nbrealey-books.com

Granted, we're living in an increasingly complex world. But does that mean that it has to be complicated as well? The authors of this highly readable book say no. In fact, they argue that the key to business success is the ability to manage complexity simply and straightforwardly. The way to do this is though a concept called coherence.

Coherence is defined as the alignment of context, viewpoint, purpose, and action that enables an organization to move forward. It's more about interaction among people and processes than it is about static entities (the kind represented in the traditional organization charts). Coherence is really nothing more than common sense, Lissack and Roos contend, common sense for a new business environment.

To foster coherence, 10 guiding principles are offered. These range from the obvious but often overlooked (use simple guiding principles) to the more imaginative (use landscape metaphors; create canyons, not canals). But they all seek to develop a unified organizational vision on how complexity will be managed and turned to competitive advantage.

For supply chain professionals struggling to manage complexity—both within their own companies and with their trading partners—the guiding principles provide a welcome set of guideposts. Perhaps as important, they force you to think about the nature and potential of relationships—which really are at the heart of any successful supply chain. Though not really supply chain specific, the anecdotes used to illustrate the principles are easily transferable to a supply chain setting.

The five recommended steps presented for managing coherence flow intuitively from the guiding principles. They do not represent anything approaching an actionable plan—and in this sense, may leave the reader a bit disappointed. Nonetheless, The Next Common Sense is a well-written book that speaks directly to the issues of interaction and relationships that supply chain professionals need to consider when developing their supply chain strategies.

Perspectives in Total Quality

Michael J. Stahl, ed.

Blackwell Business and American Society for Quality, 1999

402 pages, $75

Item No. H1007

To order: Call (800) 248-1946

This academically oriented publication has the feel of an anthology. Each chapter is independent of the other, which allows readers to pick and choose topics of greatest interest to them. Brief abstracts written by the authors at the beginning of each chapter offer welcome guide posts.

The articles provide in-depth looks at current thinking about Total Quality Management. While many of the chapters include checklists, charts, and case studies, Perspectives in Quality is not intended as a how-to book. Rather, it's meant to give managers insight into a wide range of quality issues, many of which relate directly to supply chain management.

Most of the chapters are accompanied by charts and tables that add significantly to the analyses, and readers may find themselves turning to those as a way to absorb some of the main ideas quickly. These ideas come at business processes from a variety of angles. Even so, author after author reaches many of the same conclusions; that is, business success will rely increasingly on creating and continually evolving processes across an extended enterprise.