Top 10 Supply Chain Books

This Top 10 list has been inspired by Joel at the Kaizone, a  content portal for lean books, blog posts and some fantastic resources. To take a look at his full list of the top 100 lean & OpEx blogs, click here.

For a selection of case studies, White Papers, reports, presentations & more, why not take a look at our original BTOES Insights content, or our excellent premium contributor content? Or for some wider reading, take a look at the Top 10 Operational Excellence Books.

Supply Chain Management For Dummies

By Daniel Stanton

"Supply Chain Management For Dummies helps you connect the dots between things like purchasing, logistics, and operations to see how the big picture is affected by seemingly isolated inefficiencies. Your business is a system, made of many moving parts that must synchronize to most efficiently meet the needs of your customers―and your shareholders. Interruptions in one area ripple throughout the entire operation, disrupting the careful coordination that makes businesses successful; that's where supply chain management (SCM) comes in. SCM means different things to different people, and many different models exist to meet the needs of different industries. This book focuses on the broadly-applicable Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return, and Enable, to describe the basic techniques and key concepts that keep businesses running smoothly."

The Supply Chain Revolution: Innovative Sourcing and Logistics for a Fiercely Competitive World

By Suman Sarkar

"Across a range of industries, once-leading companies are in trouble: Walmart, IBM, Pfizer, HP, and The Gap to name a few. But others are thriving. The difference is how the company’s leaders view their supply chain: Is it just about cutting cost or do they see its hidden tools for outperforming the competition?Steve Jobs, upon returning to Apple in 1997, focused on transforming the supply chain. He hired Tim Cook--and the company sped up the development of new products, getting them into consumers' hands faster. The rest is history. While competitors were shutting stores, Zara’s highly responsive supply chain made it the most valued company in the retail space and its founder, the richest man in Europe.Showcasing real solutions learned from true success stories like these and many others, The Supply Chain Revolution provides for business leaders the secrets to succeeding in a disruptive world. They will learn to:• Make alliances more successful• Simplify and debottleneck the supply chain• Boost retail success by managing store investment• Improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue• And more!Every year, more businesses fail because of their old-school views toward cutting costs, and they usually begin with the supply chain. Don’t go down with that ship! Discover how the right supply chain can actually help you thrive."

Strategic Supply Chain Management: The Five Core Disciplines for Top Performance

By Shoshanah Cohen & Joseph Roussel

"The global landscape has changed dramatically since the first edition of Strategic Supply Chain Management established itself as the authority on creating value and achieving competitive advantage from the supply chain. Shorter economic cycles, more-frequent natural disasters, higher costs in low-cost countries, more-restricted access to working capital, and greater focus on sustainability have made effective supply chain management much more challenging--and much more critical to the bottom line."

The Forklifts Have Nothing To Do!: Lessons in Supply Chain Leadership

By Joseph L. Walden

"The Forklifts Have Nothing To Do! provides practical methods for improving supply chain operations. Colonel Joe Walden has spent more than 25 years leading supply chain operations. Improving your supply chain will improve your bottom line, regardless of your industry. His recommendations draw on examples in civilian industry and military operations, including his recent experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Supply chain operations in the military are very similar to supply chain operations in commercial industry. Both have the ability to improve operations for the customer."

Managing Supply Chain Operations

By Lei Lei, Leonardo Decandia & Rosa Oppenheim

"Managing Supply Chain Operations by Lei Lei, Leonardo DeCandia, Rosa Oppenheim, and Yao Zhao shows leaders the key drivers of supply chain performance. These include demand forecasting, sales and operations planning, inventory control, capacity analysis, transportation models, supply chain integration, and project management and risk analysis.

The book is enhanced by real-life examples and case studies, as well as strategies from best practices and a focus on social and economic impact. The content reaches beyond traditional operations management and draws on the extensive experience of the authors conducting industry projects through the Rutgers Center for Supply Chain Management. The input of senior business executives has been an invaluable asset in presenting a balanced knowledge of both quantitative models and qualitative insights."

Avoiding a Supply Chain Apocalypse: Be ready for any supply chain disaster

By Tom DePaoli

"Avoid a Supply Chain Apocalypse and Disasters! In his creative guide, Avoiding a Supply Chain Apocalypse – the Best of Dr. Tom, Dr. Tom DePaoli offers practical strategies and tactics, learned and tested from his purchasing and supply chain career.  Here is an alternative approach to becoming a Supply Chain Doomsday Prepper.  He does not recommend a single silver bullet or quick fix, but suggests a multi-faceted diverse approach to avoiding supply chain meltdowns. He states that here is no one size fits all in the supply chain."

Supply Chain Metrics that Matter

By Lora M. Cecere

"Growth has slowed. Volatility has increased and the world is more global. Brands are defined by innovation and services. Supply chain excellence matters more than ever. It makes a difference in corporate performance.

One cannot snap their fingers and deliver supply chain success. It happens over the course of many years. It is measured in inches not miles. In this book, the author evaluates the progress of over a hundred companies over the period of 2006-2013.

Success drives value. The effective supply chain makes a difference in winning a war, saving a patient, and driving commerce; but it also makes a difference in a community having clean air, potable water, and a standard of living. Mistakes are hard to overcome. Supply Chain Metrics that Matter tells this story. The book links corporate financials to supply chain maturity. In the book, the author analyzes which metrics matter."

Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation

By Sunil Chopra & Peter Meindl

"Borne from a course on supply chain management taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Supply Chain Management introduces high-level strategy and concepts while giving students the practical tools necessary to solve supply chain problems. The Sixth Edition weaves in compelling case study examples, providing students with clear insight into how good supply chain management offers a competitive advantage. On the flip side, students also learn the dangers of poor supply chain management, and how it can damage an organization’s overall health and performance. Using a strategic framework, students are guided through all of the key drivers of supply chain performance, including facilities, inventory, transportation, information, sourcing, and pricing.¿ By the end of the course, students will walk away with a deep understanding of supply chains and a firm grasp on the practical managerial levers to pull in order to improve supply chain performance."