A Purchasing Magazine Book from Reed Business Press

The managed flow of goods and information from raw material to final sale also known as a "supply chain" affects everythingâ€"from the U.S. gross domestic product to where you can buy your jeans. The nature of a company's supply chain has a significant effect on its success or failureâ€"as in the success of Dell Computer's make-to-order system and the failure of General Motor's vertical integration during the 1998 United Auto Workers strike. Supply Chain Integration looks at this crucial component of business at a time when product design, manufacture, and delivery are changing radically and globally. This book explores the benefits of continuously improving the relationship between the firm, its suppliers, and its customers to ensure the highest added value. This book identifies the state-of-the-art developments that contribute to the success of vertical tiers of suppliers and relates these developments to the capabilities that small and medium-sized manufacturers must have to be viable participants in this system. Strategies for attaining these capabilities through manufacturing extension centers and other technical assistance providers at the national, state, and local level are suggested. This book identifies action steps for small and medium-sized manufacturersâ€"the "seed corn" of business start-up and developmentâ€"to improve supply chain management. The book examines supply chain models from consultant firms, universities, manufacturers, and associations. Topics include the roles of suppliers and other supply chain participants, the rise of outsourcing, the importance of information management, the natural tension between buyer and seller, sources of assistance to small and medium-sized firms, and a host of other issues. Supply Chain Integration will be of interest to industry policymakers, economists, researchers, business leaders, and forward-thinking executives.

Cost and Effect is written for the general manager, and explains activity-based costing systems. It focuses on creating integrated, knowledge-based systems that provide managers with meaningful information, not just data.

Shed Revenue-Draining Complexity Costs by Thirty Percent! “This is an ambitious book packed with insight and fresh thinking. Separating good from bad complexity costs is a critical task facing companies today, and the authors provide a compelling roadmap for solving the problem.” Michael B. McCallister, President and CEO, Humana Inc. “Waging War on Complexity Costs examines an incredibly important and often overlooked aspect of business and organizations in general—regulators and government officials should read this book and take notice. Complexity dramatically increases costs and risk of failure. It is like a cancer that eats away at efficiency and profitability.” Andy Beal, Chairman and CEO, Beal Bank “This is by far the best and most useful explanation of how to address complexity in a business. Waging War on Complexity Costs frames the issue in a way that companies can finally tackle the problem—this book delivers.” Ahmad R. Chatila, CEO, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. “This is the first book that really targets organizational complexity in a compelling way, making this a must-read for any organization that is looking to distance itself from the competition. After years of cost-cutting, many companies are realizing that they still don’t have a discernable cost advantage. This book provides the platform to achieve just that, by attacking the complexity that bogs them down.” Tom DiDonato, EVP Human Resources, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. About the Book: Complexity costs are the single biggest determinant of your company’s cost competitiveness. For the past two decades the pursuit of growth has created massive complexity in processes, product portfolios, and organizations, adding costs that companies can ill afford. The only good news is that your competitors may be carrying as much complexity as you are. Learn how to eliminate this complexity, and you can create a tremendous cost advantage over your competition. In Waging War on Complexity Costs, Stephen Wilson and Andrei Perumal deliver a powerful and practical approach for reclaiming your cost advantage. This executive-level resource presents a wealth of insight and new research to definitively answer key questions such as: How can I quantify the cost of complexity without getting lost in a sea of data? Where are the biggest opportunities for reducing product, process, and organizational complexity, and how can I cut through the interdependencies that trap these costs? How can I see results quickly by taking targeted actions against key levers? How do I keep complexity costs at bay? It is not enough to attack bloated product portfolios. Substantive cost improvements require addressing the complexity in the underlying processes and organizational structures. Waging War on Complexity Costs provides a wealth of relevant case studies with examples from Kraft, Tesco, Fiat, and the U.S. Navy and highlights specific strategies for reducing costs by 15-30% in significant portions of your business. Tomorrow’s consumers are emerging as wellinformed customers who know what they want and the price they’re willing to pay for it. Complexity not only drives costs; it creates a barrier between you and the customer. Declare a war on complexity costs and prepare for profitable growth.

This substantially revised and updated edition of Engineering Economics and Costing continues to build on the fundamental principles and applications of the subject. Divided into three parts: Part I, Engineering Economics; Part II, Financial System; and Part III, Cost Accounting, the text discusses, in a simple and easy-to-understand language, such topics as interest formulas and their applications, and various methods, for example, the present worth method of comparison, future worth method, annual equivalent method, and the rate of return method. It also includes, in its Appendix, interest tables for a wide range of interest rates (0.25-50%) and for a period ranging from one year to 100 years. These tables, along with the topics discussed, will help students of both Engineering and MCA in evaluating engineering projects. What is New to This Edition: Chapter 2 gives a distinction between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Chapter 2 also explains the concept of income elasticity, cross elasticity of demand, and elasticity of substitution. At the end Chapter 3, a variety of simple numerical problems with solutions are given to illustrate the concepts discussed. Chapter 8 provides more examples illustrating the various aspects of break-even analysis. While the book is intended primarily as a text for B.Tech. and MCA courses of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Orissa, it would also be highly useful for BE/B.Tech. students of other universities/institutes. Besides, practising engineers and project consultants making economic decision analysis would find this well-organized book immensely valuable. What the Reviewer Says: The book is very clear in exposition of the concepts and theories of Economics. I am confident that it will be extremely helpful to the engineering students. --Dr. NIRMAL CHANDRA SAHU Professor, Postgraduate Department of Economics Berhampur University, Orissa

The rate of change in manufacturing today is faster than ever. Retailers and consumers demand flexibility and responsiveness, regulatory oversight is on the rise, and increasing consolidations require companies to demonstrate cost and efficiency improvements. Information Technology for Manufacturing describes how IT can help manufacturers e

Cost Reduction and Control Best Practices provides financial manages with no-nonsense, balanced, and practical strategies that are being targeted and used nationwide for controlling costs by thousands of companies in areas such as human resources, compensation, benefits, purchasing, outsourcing, use of consultants, taxes, and exports. These best practices are based on the trenches experience, research, proprietary databases, and consultants from the Institute of Management and Administration (IOMA) and other leading experts in their fields. * Provides best practices and techniques for controlling costs within a company * New chapters focus on outsourcing costs, downsizing, consultants' costs, and business tax costs * Provides the latest strategies companies re using to control costs

This handbook gives profound insight into the main ideas and concepts of integrated care. It offers a managed care perspective with a focus on patient orientation, efficiency, and quality by applying widely recognized management approaches to the field of health care. The handbook also provides international best practices and shows how integrated care does work throughout various health systems. The delivery of health and social care is characterised by fragmentation and complexity in most health systems throughout the world. Therefore, much of the recent international discussion in the field of health policy and health management has focused on the topic of integrated care. “Integrated” acknowledges the complexity of patients ́ needs and aims to meet it by taking into account both health and social care aspects. Changing and improving processes in a coordinated way is at the heart of this approach.

Management Control is the process by which managers at all hierarchical levels ensure that their strategic intentions are realized. This requires a management control system that enables managers to map external developments to the internal planning and control processes and to improve the coordination between all actors. The book offers concrete guidance on how to build an integrated planning and control system. The requirements are derived from management models and from corporate management practice. The book presents the fundamentals and models, while also guiding readers through a comprehensive simulation model programmed in Excel. Using this model, readers can trace the dependencies, structures and calculation methods used in detail, and identify the effects on other areas. The goal is to provide a design template for the implementation of a decision-relevant management accounting system as well as for winning internal piloting indicators and early warning information that readers can use at their own organizations. Given its focus, the book will be a valuable asset for managers and specialists, service providers, project developers, producers and traders, public enterprises, NGOs, consultants and lecturers in the fields of management, controllership and information technology.