Supply Chain Management: A Global Perspective (review)

The concept of global supply networks is critical to understanding the intricacies of supply chain management (SCM) in the current business environment. This book earns a favorable initial impression based on its promise to focus on global issues affecting supply chain management today. Because this book appears to be for use as a textbook, this review is written accordingly.

Consistent with the second part of the book’s title, the preface lays the groundwork for the importance of the global supply chain along with a brief description of some significant global issues. Chapter 1 introduces a wide range of topics, which the reader assumes is an overview of the entire book, but this was not the case. Some topics appearing in chapter 1 become full chapters but several topics do not appear in more detail elsewhere. The “bullwhip effect” is an important SCM concept but it appears only briefly in chapter 1 and is not covered again. Consecutive sections in chapter 1 discuss managing supply chain disruptions and supply chain security leading the reader to expect a chapter on supply chain risk and security, but none appears. Michael Porter’s “value chain” concept is discussed in chapter 1, but does not appear in the references. The discussion of value and competitive advantage in chapter 2 suggests that Porter’s contributions might be better matched to those topics.

Chapters 4–7, “Marketing,” “Operations Management,” “ Sourcing” (purchasing), and “Logistics” successfully communicate the cross-functional nature of supply chain management. “Forecasting and Demand Planning” (chapter 8) is a requisite topic but the number-crunching fifteen pages of detail is not as necessary for supply chain management as it is for operations management. An abbreviated coverage of time series techniques and error calculations would be sufficient, while a higher-level coverage of forecasting at different points in the supply chain might be more appropriate as would the incorporation of the “bullwhip effect.”

Inventory management is one of the most critical areas where supply chain managers can impact organizational performance, but unfortunately chapter 9 is a carryover from inventory management coverage from operations management textbooks and does not adequately address inventory at different points throughout the global supply chain.

Chapter 10, “Lean Systems and Six-Sigma Quality,” continues chapter 9’s operations management flavor. “Quality” and “Lean” are both significant issues for SCM but the treatment is too basic and manufacturing oriented, hence, specific supply chain examples are needed to place these topics in the proper context.

Chapters 11–13, “Supply Chain Relationship Management,” “Global Supply Chain Management,” and “Sustainable Supply Chain Management,” appear best suited to the stated objectives of the book because they focus on specific global supply chain topics. “Risk assessment” appears within the topic of sustainable supply chain management; however, a separate chapter on supply chain risk would allow the author to refocus the discussion away from sustainability and towards business continuity.

Throughout the book, the breadth of topic coverage is adequate, but the depth of topic coverage is often lacking. For example, given the nature of global supply chains, multimodal (or intermodal) transportation is increasing in importance in Europe and North America, but “multimode” is covered in just one paragraph. The critical importance of multimodal transportation suggests that substantially more information is warranted in the form of industry statistics, company profiles, and/or a case study. An abundance of information is available on single modes—trucking, rail, air, and water; however, more specific examples and statistics from each might be more informative.

This first edition features a good framework and describes many of the basic elements of supply chain management. The reader looking for a basic understanding of supply chain management would find this book an easy read and would gain an appreciation for the SCM complexity. The main drawback is the reliance on an operations management perspective in several chapters and the lack...