Summer Reading Guide 2008

After you pack the picnic basket with sandwiches, potato salad, and lemonade, toss in one of these interesting summer reads. You’ll quench your appetite and your thirst for supply chain knowledge at the same time.

By Donald J. Bowersox and Nicholas J. LaHowchic

As the Internet creeps more and more into the daily business of supply chains, companies need to be ready to adapt or risk falling by the wayside. Start Pulling Your Chain! looks at how the Internet affects business now and how it will change business in the future. The authors explain how companies need to modify their operations to survive in a new electronic era of customer interaction and satisfaction.

Key Takeaways: Learn how to turn your supply chain into a well-oiled, responsive machine by using current and future technology to connect you to customers like never before.


For details: www.ogillc.com

Supply Chain Vector

By Daniel L. Gardner

One part theory, one part concrete experience, Supply Chain Vector connects the dots between the way you’re running your global supply chain and what you’re getting out of it. Gardner draws on his 17 years of industry experience to offer advice on adapting your supply chain strategies to advance your company’s fiscal gain.

Key Takeaways: Going global or already there? Gardner explains what it takes to be successful internationally, and offers 19 different ways to measure that success.

For details: www.jrosspub.com

Integral Warehouse Management

By Jeroen P. Van den Berg

Van den Berg, a Dutch warehousing expert, points to the distribution center as an area where logistics and operations managers can cut costs and still grow their business. The book presents new directions for optimizing distribution center operations, and revisits those proven to work. A warehouse management maturity grid outlines four levels of action your company can take to improve operations.

Key Takeaways: Use the examples and case studies to tighten the logistics cost gap between you and your competitors.

For details: www.jvdbconsulting.com

Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production

By Taiichi Ohno

An oldie, but a goody. Ohno, the father of lean manufacturing, offers a historical and philosophical education in production in this 1988 book. These translated essays give readers more of a look into Ohno’s mind than into Toyota’s business secrets. After all, it was his way of thinking that established Toyota as one of the largest automakers in the world.

Key Takeaways: The historian in you may enjoy reading about the origins of the Toyota Production System, but Ohno’s business insight will interest everyone.

For details: www.productivitypress.com

Today and Tomorrow

By Henry Ford

Here’s another history lesson from the automotive industry. Henry Ford’s innovative production and transportation ideas are still being applied to big business today. Read about them from the source in this 1926 classic guide, and discover the true roots of lean manufacturing.

Key Takeaways: Henry Ford inspired Toyota’s Taiichi Ohno. Can he also inspire you?

For details: www.productivitypress.com

Fundamentals of Warehousing

By Allan Howie

Does the thought of attending night school bum you out? Then grab this materials handling introduction workbook instead. Whether you’re new to materials handling, warehousing, and distribution center operations or just brushing up on the basics, you’ll find Fundamentals of Warehousing a handy resource. It describes the four basic functions of a warehouse and defines terminology you need to know.

Key Takeaways: Answer the study questions at the end of each chapter and test how much information you retain. If you’re stuck, feel free to contact the author—really.

For details: http://cscmp.org

Selecting Warehouse Software From WMS & ERP Providers

By Philip Obal

Selecting Warehouse Software helps you choose the best warehouse solution for your company. The genius of this book isn’t that it simply recommends the solutions to implement; it compares and contrasts various software solutions and guides you through implementation. The graphics sprinkled throughout the book help explain the concepts.

Key Takeaways: Once you’re done reading the text, flip to the back of the book. You’ll find a directory of various software companies, categorized by solutions offered.

For details: www.idii.com

ExamCram: RFID+

By OTA Training

If you’re planning to take your RFID certification exam in the future, you need ExamCram: RFID+ This book is one of the most popular RFID certification study guides around, and is used in the OTA Training classroom. The guide presents complex information in an easy-to-understand format, so you’ll have a boost of confidence when taking the exam. The book also includes plenty of ways to test your knowledge before exam day.

Key Takeaways: Besides the 300 prep questions, the book also includes a CD with additional information to help you prepare for the RFID certification exam.

For details: www.otatraining.com

Chain Reaction

By Robert A. Malone

If you’re looking for companies to model your supply chain after, Wal-Mart, UPS, DHL, FedEx, Dell, IBM, and IKEA isn’t a bad list to start with. Robert Malone, a supply chain visionary and Inbound Logistics contributing editor, analyzes those successful companies and what makes their supply chains tick…and thrive. They have a lot more in common than you’d think.

Key Takeaways: Don’t be intimidated by the size and scope of these companies. You can apply many of their supply chain tactics to your company and reap the benefits.

For details: www.kaptest.com

101+ Actions to Improve Transportation and Logistics Performance

By Walter L. Weart, Edward J. Marien, and Lee Cisneros

This guide starts with a step-by-step process to help you determine your most pressing transportation and logistics needs. It then shows you how to address those needs by describing scores of techniques to improve your company’s logistics performance. The second edition of this well-received guide includes a new section on how service providers and shippers can reduce their carbon footprint by going green.

Key Takeaways: The book offers more than 101 easy-to-implement “action items” to help boost transportation and logistics performance.

For details: www.improvetransportationandlogisticsperformance.com

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