Every year, more businesses fail because of their old-school views toward cutting costs, and they usually begin with the supply chain. Discover how the right supply chain can actually help you thrive. Across a range of industries, once-leading companies are in trouble: Walmart, IBM, Pfizer, HP, and The Gap to name a few, while 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. In The Supply Chain Revolution, business leaders 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 Showcasing real solutions learned from true success stories like these and many others, The Supply Chain Revolution provides you with the secrets to succeeding in a disruptive world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken precious lives and devastated the global economy. It has also revealed chinks in our supply chains. Not only have manufacturers found themselves scrambling unsuccessfully to find new suppliers when their Asian sources shut down, but the Western world has experienced across-the-board shortages of essential consumer packaged goods for the first time in decades. Blockchain technology has the potential to minimize these kinds of pandemic disruptions. In this book, some of the world's top experts show how blockchain--in combination with other innovations such as additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things--can address longstanding problems that make the business of getting goods to customers so slow and expensive, especially in crises. Today's supply chains are complex, as they move resources through trucks, planes, boats, and trains. Too many parties rely on a hodgepodge of documents and intermediaries to do business, which make the whereabouts and custody of goods unclear. That's why, in a pandemic, uninformed consumers might reasonably believe that toilet paper won't be available for many months. Enter blockchain--the Internet of Value. For the first time in human history, individuals and organizations can manage and trade their assets digitally peer to peer. In doing so, they will reinvent global commerce and how we exchange value. This will transform the best practices of operations, logistics, procurement and purchasing, transportation, customs and border control, trade finance and insurance, manufacturing, and inventory management. Global supply chains are ripe for disruption at every level and in every role. Supply Chain Revolution identifies what leaders should be doing now to prepare their organizations for the inevitable decentralized future. Enterprise executives and entrepreneurs alike will find ideas and opportunities to discuss with their stakeholders and decide how best to participate in the blockchain revolution.

The digital transformation is in full swing and fundamentally changes how we live, work, and communicate with each other. From retail to finance, many industries see an inflow of new technologies, disruption through innovative platform business models, and employees struggling to cope with the significant shifts occurring. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is predicted to also transform Logistics and Supply Chain Management, with delivery systems becoming automated, smart networks created everywhere, and data being collected and analyzed universally. The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides a holistic overview of this vital subject clouded by buzz, hype, and misinformation. The book is divided into three themed-sections: Technologies such as self-driving cars or virtual reality are not only electrifying science fiction lovers anymore, but are also increasingly presented as cure-all remedies to supply chain challenges. In The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the authors peel back the layers of excitement that have grown around new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Blockchain or Cloud computing, and show use cases that give a glimpse about the fascinating future we can expect. Platforms that allow businesses to centrally acquire and manage their logistics services disrupt an industry that has been relationship-based for centuries. The authors discuss smart contracts, which are one of the most exciting applications of Blockchain, Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings for freight procurement, where numerous data sources can be integrated and decision-making processes automated, and marine terminal operating systems as an integral node for shipments. In The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, insights are shared into the cold chain industry where companies respond to increasing quality demands, and how European governments are innovatively responding to challenges of cross-border eCommerce. People are a vital element of the digital transformation and must be on board to drive change. The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution explains how executives can create sustainable impact and how competencies can be managed in the digital age - especially for sales executives who require urgent upskilling to remain relevant. Best practices are shared for organizational culture change, drawing on studies among senior leaders from the US, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia, and for managing strategic alliances with logistics service providers to offset risks and create cross-functional, cross-company transparency. The Digital Transformation of Logistics: Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides realistic insights, a ready-to-use knowledge base, and a working vocabulary about current activities and emerging trends of the Logistics industry. Intended readers are supply chain professionals working for manufacturing, trading, and freight forwarding companies as well as students and all interested parties.

Industrial revolutions have impacted both, manufacturing and service. From the steam engine to digital automated production, the industrial revolutions have conduced significant changes in operations and supply chain management (SCM) processes. Swift changes in manufacturing and service systems have led to phenomenal improvements in productivity. The fast-paced environment brings new challenges and opportunities for the companies that are associated with the adaptation to the new concepts such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber Physical Systems, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, cyber security, data analytics, block chain and cloud technology. These emerging technologies facilitated and expedited the birth of Logistics 4.0. Industrial Revolution 4.0 initiatives in SCM has attracted stakeholders’ attentions due to it is ability to empower using a set of technologies together that helps to execute more efficient production and distribution systems. This initiative has been called Logistics 4.0 of the fourth Industrial Revolution in SCM due to its high potential. Connecting entities, machines, physical items and enterprise resources to each other by using sensors, devices and the internet along the supply chains are the main attributes of Logistics 4.0. IoT enables customers to make more suitable and valuable decisions due to the data-driven structure of the Industry 4.0 paradigm. Besides that, the system’s ability of gathering and analyzing information about the environment at any given time and adapting itself to the rapid changes add significant value to the SCM processes. In this peer-reviewed book, experts from all over the world, in the field present a conceptual framework for Logistics 4.0 and provide examples for usage of Industry 4.0 tools in SCM. This book is a work that will be beneficial for both practitioners and students and academicians, as it covers the theoretical framework, on the one hand, and includes examples of practice and real world.

Does your company suffer from inventory obesity? Is the balance between your supply and demand a constant struggle? In The Supply Chain Revolution, Art Koch unveils a masterful system for any organization to build better supply chain fundamentals and overcome the evils of inventory. This is the ultimate playbook for CEOs, COOs, and CFOs to revolutionize supply chains and convert them from cost centers to profit and value drivers. Turn your supply chain into a powerful weapon for sustainable profitability by unlocking the power of inventory velocity with innovative strategies for process optimization, team engagement, and corporate valuation. It’s not just good management—it's a proven competitive advantage.

The managed flow of goods and information from raw material to final sale also known as a "supply chain" affects everythingâ€"from the U.S. gross domestic product to where you can buy your jeans. The nature of a company's supply chain has a significant effect on its success or failureâ€"as in the success of Dell Computer's make-to-order system and the failure of General Motor's vertical integration during the 1998 United Auto Workers strike. Supply Chain Integration looks at this crucial component of business at a time when product design, manufacture, and delivery are changing radically and globally. This book explores the benefits of continuously improving the relationship between the firm, its suppliers, and its customers to ensure the highest added value. This book identifies the state-of-the-art developments that contribute to the success of vertical tiers of suppliers and relates these developments to the capabilities that small and medium-sized manufacturers must have to be viable participants in this system. Strategies for attaining these capabilities through manufacturing extension centers and other technical assistance providers at the national, state, and local level are suggested. This book identifies action steps for small and medium-sized manufacturersâ€"the "seed corn" of business start-up and developmentâ€"to improve supply chain management. The book examines supply chain models from consultant firms, universities, manufacturers, and associations. Topics include the roles of suppliers and other supply chain participants, the rise of outsourcing, the importance of information management, the natural tension between buyer and seller, sources of assistance to small and medium-sized firms, and a host of other issues. Supply Chain Integration will be of interest to industry policymakers, economists, researchers, business leaders, and forward-thinking executives.