Supply Chain - (Wiley Corporate F&a) by Vivek Sehgal (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The book starts by summarizing the current literature on business, functional (supply chain), and technology strategies. Then, it establishes a case for why none of these strategies in isolation can create the competitive advantage needed to achieve the goals of the business and why they must be aligned and must work together to be effective. Every argument in the book is supported with cases from the industry. Some of the cases I have relied heavily are Wal-mart (business strategy of being a "price leader" drives supply chain strategy to reduce costs), Cemex (business strategy of "differentiation" drives supply chain that is customer centric), and several other industry examples (Avon, Tyco, Rubbermaid, etc.) as they fit the argument being made at the time. The book concludes by consolidating the lessons learned and implementation guidance on how the 3 strategies and be pulled together resulting in a strategic roadmap."--

Book Synopsis

Hands-on guidance for creating competitive advantages through strategy realization

How can your supply chain create competitive advantages and help achieve business goals? Drawing from the author's abundant research and analysis, this resourceful book shows how aligning the supply chain design with business strategy helps build competitive capabilities, prioritize capital investments, and takes your firm beyond the industry best-practices to create competitive advantages, not just competitive parity. Summarizing the current literature on business and supply chain strategies, this book provides path-breaking new direction to build your own winning supply chain strategy. Real-life cases show how this strategy alignment has produced results for the most successful companies and how it can be achieved in your firm.

• An overview of the concepts of business strategy, the current thinking on supply chain strategy and why it is inadequate to drive competitive advantage through supply chain design
• Process for establishing your own supply chain strategy to build competitive advantage
• The place of technology in creating business capabilities in modern corporations and why managing technology should be a core competence and an integral part of strategy planning
• Step-by-step direction and examples for creating strategy alignment and designing a supply chain that goes beyond supporting your operations
• Case studies including Wal-mart, Cemex, Kmart, HP, Dell, and others

Consolidating the lessons learned along with implementation guidance, Supply Chain as Strategic Asset is the must-read road map for designing a supply chain that will be vital in achieving your business goals.

From the Back Cover

SUPPLY CHAIN AS STRATEGIC ASSET

Creating an effective supply chain is key to staying ahead in today's complex market. Yet many corporations are still not leveraging the power and potential of their supply chains to realize their business objectives. Supply Chain as Strategic Asset provides an accessible, coherent road map to creating and implementing an effective supply chain strategy that supports your business's goals in sustaining competitive advantages.

Author Vivek Sehgal--a pioneering thought leader and accomplished supply chain executive--shows you how to design a personalized supply chain that works for your organization's unique circumstances. With his crystalline analyses and step-by-step guidance, you'll discover how to execute a fully integrated business strategy that will keep your company at the edge of the value creation frontier.

Exploring the vital symbiotic relationship among the three primary strategies--business, functional, and technology--Supply Chain as Strategic Asset deftly illustrates how misalignment among the three creates friction and inefficiencies that prevent organizations from reaching their full potential. You'll discover the tools, guidance, and examples to help maximize your business performance and create competitive advantage, as well as organizational structures to help establish the culture for alignment of the three strategies.

Destined to be a landmark resource in the field, Supply Chain as Strategic Asset covers:

• The concepts of business strategy and the process of creating competitive advantages through strategy realization
• Why the three strategies--business, functional, and technology--must align for creating competitive advantage
• The types of organizational structures that support this alignment and those that inhibit it
• Why pursuing industry best practices can only bring capability parity but not necessarily competitive advantages
• Why the conventional supply chain strategies of lean, agile, postponement, and speculation are deficient and the alternatives that will work for you
• Real-world industry case studies--including Wal-Mart, CEMEX, Kmart, HP, and Dell--that supplement each argument

Superior supply chain capabilities support efficient operations and are a valuable asset to realizing your organization's goals. Build a better supply chain and create long-lasting competitive advantages for your company with Supply Chain as Strategic Asset.

About the Author

VIVEK SEHGAL is Senior Director of Research at Manhattan Associates, a global, best-of-breed supply chain solutions provider. Prior to working with Manhattan, Vivek worked for Fortune 20 companies, including The Home Depot and GE, in various leadership roles in their supply chain technology groups. He has spoken at several industry events in the past and is a current member of the Science Advisory Board at Manhattan Associates, working with the industry to define new optimization opportunities in supply chain solutions. Vivek has authored Enterprise Supply Chain Management (Wiley) and several articles in supply chain journals. His blog is available at www.supplychainmusings.com.