The purpose of this book is to trace the history of globalization and its impact on supply chain management and to look at the problems and some of the solutions facing global supply chains in the current era. The current challenge is surviving the challenge of global competition. Good supply chain management can be a valuable tool in winning this competition.

Thanks to the development of internet- and network-based information and communication systems, virtually every product and service produced today has a supply chain that extends around the globe. For the last twenty-five years, companies such as Wal-Mart, Dell, and Toyota have enjoyed strong competitive advantages in their respective markets as a result of their world-class supply chains. As the supply chain increasingly lengthens, managers at all levels of the organization must understand the unique challenges of working with suppliers and customers located around the world--and the opportunities that can build new competitive advantages. This book will introduce readers at all levels of experience to cutting-edge methods and strategies for global sourcing and global distribution through the discussion of current research and case study vignettes from companies in every corner of the world.

If you’re a manager of a supply chain operation, or a student learning about supply chain management, this book will provide not only an overview of supply chain management but also a framework for subsequent, more detailed study in various aspects of supply management. This book reviews the evolution of supply chain management concepts and discusses trends in global markets and strategic competitiveness. It then focuses on the major issues involved in managing a competitive supply chain including: forecasting, inventory management, distribution, dealing with uncertainty, reverse logistics, and customer service. Coverage of the dynamic, evolving issues pertaining to supply chains that affect the global business community concludes the book. With this book in hand, you’ll be better equipped to conceptualize the management of supply chains as a collection of business processes; identify primary and secondary value chain processes; distinguish between the umbrella term, “supply chain management,” and its component functions; and understand the basic tools of forecasting and the need for accurate data and forecasts on which to base supply chain management decisions.

Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. New technologies could draw production closer to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And trade conflicts among large countries could lead to a retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies; and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.

In his 1985 book, Competitive Advantage, Michael Porter introduced the concept of the value chain and described it as “a systematic way of examining all activities a firm performs and how they interact, (necessary) for analyzing the sources of competitive advantage,” and introduced the idea of “linkages,” which was the real breakthrough in management thinking. Thinking of a firm as a series of horizontal and vertical linkages put the spotlight on the silo mentality within which firms operated and how business schools structured curriculum. The silo mentality caused business students unable to see the firm as a holistic entity, an understanding of how all of its parts fit together to develop competitive advantage. Students graduating with a silo mentality perpetuated the silo mentality in business firms. This book draws together existing knowledge to help facilitate the shift of mind necessary to effectively manage the value chain, and introduces a new conception of the value chain, one that has been copyrighted (2006) and provides a new perspective of the value chain commensurate with the demands of the 21st-century global economy.

If you are a supply chain manager, an executive, an entrepreneur, or a stakeholder in a sustainable business, this book will help you develop the awareness and skills needed to support sustainable supply chain management in your firm. The authors introduce the many ways that social and environmental responsibility can be integrated into supply chain management, from sustainable product and process design to programs and techniques that support product end-of-life management. The book begins with a discussion of sustainability and business strategy. It then explores product and process design, sustainable purchasing and logistics, and product end-of-life management topics. The authors include real-world examples and cases from some of the world’s leading companies in sustainable supply chain management. The examples range from small local companies to large multinational players to give a broad range of ideas to the reader. With case examples, workshops, and step-by-step instructions on how to create a sustainable supply chain, Sustainability Delivered is the most practical and usable book on the market that will help you and other business leaders to authentically pursue and deliver on sustainability ideals

Continuous improvement is essential but not sufficient to assure an organizations continued success. In order to be a market leader or indeed even to survive in many cases, resources must be devoted to longer-term strategic quality activities to address radical--possibly paradigm-shifting-- improvements that might affect the organization and its competitive position. These radical improvements might result from R&D efforts within the organization (proactive) that propel the organization and its products and services to the cutting edge of the markets in which they operate. Or these radical improvements might be developed by competitors or even by organizations in other industries (reactive) which, if ignored, might threaten the long-term survival of the organization if they are not recognized and reacted to in an appropriate way. This book is about how to think differently about quality and by doing so increase the creativity, innovation, and agility of an organization and its employees as well as the awareness of new developments in the marketplace and their possible impact on the organization and its markets. Quality must be addressed in strategic as well as operational terms in order for organizations to compete effectively over the long term. Strategic quality management requires insightful leadership. This book is about attaining the insight required to increase organizational creativity, innovation, and agility to create new paradigms, and survive paradigm shifts that originate outside the organization. Each chapter contains short cases illustrations about real organizations that illustrate the main points of that chapter. This book does not describe a detailed process that ostensibly leads to insight. Rather this book takes the position that what works for one organization might not work as effectively for another. It challenges leaders and managers to adopt a new way of thinking and presents thought-provoking ideas about how organizations can begin the process of charting their own paths to insight--and lasting success.

The “green” or environmental sustainability movement has taken hold throughout the world. Its staying power is confirmed by that fact that environmental emphasis in organizations did not decrease during the recent global recession, but rather increased. However, since most organizations rely heavily on their supply base for providing components, materials, and services that become part of their final products, organizations must revisit their sourcing processes and choices to have a real impact on the environment. This book begins with an introduction to the idea of sustainability and to the concept of what it means to source to support an organization’s green initiatives, and why this is important from a holistic, lifecycle perspective. The initial chapters will also provide a point of view of how green sourcing fits into the organization’s entire portfolio of sustainability initiatives. Examples of industries and associations that lead the way in green sourcing will be presented. In addition, best practices in green sourcing will be discussed. The book also provides a perspective on how organizations can encourage and support their suppliers in pursuing green initiatives, and what types of initiatives provide a good starting point.

In the past, vertical integration was a way to gain efficiency in supply chains. Today, vertical integration doesn't work as well because specialty organizations have developed to perform specific tasks very efficiently. Efficiency through supply chains is achieved today by linking specialists throughout the vertical business hierarchy. This sort of linkage is possible because of the technology that has developed which facilitates it, making today supply chains both faster and more cost effective. Supply Chain Information Technology surveys the different systems that are used by businesses to achieve these efficiencies. The target market for this book is practitioners in the supply chain management field, one of the fastest growing fields in our economy. The rapid growth in computer technology provides supply chains with valuable tools to better coordinate and control their operations. This book describes how these systems provide supply chains with information system support. The design of these systems and the tasks they perform are demonstrated with the help of analytic techniques and models that are used in the book.

A collection of papers by some of the world's leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multi-disciplinary, with contributions from economists, political scientists, supply chain management specialists, practitioners and policy-makers. Co-published with the Fung Global Institute and the Temasek