Having an accurate assessment of company expenditures is a key to staying in business. Activity-based management (ABM) is the only system that offers the tools to correctly assess the outflow involved in a tightly knit supply chain and enables understanding not only of the total cost of ownership (TCO), but also how these costs should be allocated.

Proven strategy for reducing production and operating costs while increasing profits As the growth of the Internet shifts power to consumers, the pressure on companies to keep prices low will continue to mount. Increasingly corporations are relying on "margin management" and supply chain management as a means of keeping prices low while raising profits. Activity-based costing and management (ABC/M) data is key to succeeding in both these critical management strategies. This book explains how executives can effectively use the information furnished by cutting-edge ABC/M systems. The author, an acknowledged expert in the field, clearly defines the ABC/M system and explains how to use the information it provides for best results. He provides a rational framework for understanding the fifteen key defining characteristics of ABC/M and arms readers with an ABC/M Readiness Assessment test along with extremely user-friendly exhibits.

Supply Chain Management and Cost Management are important developments helping companies to respond to increased global competition and demanding customer needs. Within the 23 chapters of the book, more than 35 authors provide insights into new concepts for cost control in supply chains. The frameworks presented are illustrated with case studies from the automotive, textile, white goods, and transportation industry as well as from retailing. Academics will benefit from the wide range of approaches presented, while practitioners will learn from the examples how their own company and the supply chains which they compete in, can be brought to lower costs and better performance.

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.

Retail supply chain consists of multiple segments from sales to distribution to finance. Retail manufacturers rely on a complicated web of suppliers. Customer demand and market competition today requires extreme efficiency from end to end. This book offers the retail supply chain executive with the tools needed for full strategic advantage. The new edition gives special attention to recent challenges, such as vast technological change, higher levels of customer personalization, and more global supply chains.