Research Method

BOOK REVIEWS Managing the Global Supply Chain

Tage Skjott-Larsen, Philip B. Schary, Juliana H. Mikkola and Herbert Kotzab (Gylling, Copenhagen Business School Press, 2007), 459 pages, third edition

Supply chains are continually subjected to forces, internal and external, that are in constant states of flux. Managing a supply chain is therefore a demanding activity that requires a thorough understanding of the concepts and mechanisms that underpin the operation of the supply chain and the factors that influence its performance. In a global environment, these factors are many, often interrelated and beyond the reach of most organizations to influence or control. Knowing what these factors are and understanding how they are likely to impact on the strategic and operational decisions that must be made while managing the global supply chain is critical. This text sets out to provide a systemic understanding of all the essential facets of the supply chain and its management in the global environment. To accomplish this, the design and operation of the supply chain is presented as a management process that embraces the activities of all the supply chain agents (p.19). Consequentially the primary focus of the text is on managing inter-organizational relationships to facilitate the development of a customer orientated, value driven, supply network. A supply chain model derived from value chain principles provides a common reference point throughout the book, which is organized in three sections covering concepts, processes and management issues. The first section provides a useful introduction to general supply chain concepts. Chapter two introduces the notion of value creation as a changeable characteristic that demands a responsive supply chain. Focusing on physical flows, activity shifting is presented to illustrate the contribution organizational and structural design can make to supply chain performance. Chapter three provides a particularly interesting, albeit...