Materials management has become an important activity in both manu facturing and service organizations. Rapid changes in the industrial envi ronment, such as the introduction of automation and Just-In-Time, and demands for increased productivity and quality have increased the need for alI personnel to be concerned with total control of materials. Clearly this trend will continue, and materials management wilI play an increasingly vital role in organizational success, especialIy for operations that are be coming automated. Materials management will be more critical in many service organizations where the materials group has received little attention in the past. This book covers the basic materials management function and provides valuable insights into various other major functions related to it. We believe that each of these-manufacturing, marketing, finance, quaIity assurance, and engineering-is vitalIy involved in materiaIs management, and any coverage of the subject that excludes these functions offers too narrow a perspective. With increasing demand for materials managers, human resource re quirements will be satisfied by individuals trained within the discipline and by personnel who have worked in other fields. The dimensions of materials management have grown so rapidly that many practicing managers are not aware that they are fulfilling material management functions. It is impor tant that alI individuals have the basic knowledge required to perforrn their roles in these organizations.

Reflecting the enhance role of materials/logistics management in today's competitive business environment, this new edition provides a fundamental understanding of the subject and its fuction in all sectors of the economy. It examines the vital area of customer service and shows how to implement a world class, integrated materials/logistics system that control activities starting with the supplier, through the company operation, and concluding with the satisfied customer. Thoroughly revised and updated, the Second Edition features new chapters on Just-In-Time and automation. Additional discussions include achieving world class competitiveness, ISO 9000 and organizational trends. Theoretical and practical examples of materials/logistics management are integrated with numerous real-life examples. This Second Edition of Total Materials Management presents accessible approaches for enhancing materials management/logistics, enabling personnel in purchasing, warehousing, physical distribution, materials handling, inventory control and production control to capitalize on vast opportunities for savings. This book is also an important resource for students in courses on materials/logistics management.

Reflecting the enhance role of materials/logistics management in today's competitive business environment, this new edition provides a fundamental understanding of the subject and its fuction in all sectors of the economy. It examines the vital area of customer service and shows how to implement a world class, integrated materials/logistics system that control activities starting with the supplier, through the company operation, and concluding with the satisfied customer. Thoroughly revised and updated, the Second Edition features new chapters on Just-In-Time and automation. Additional discussions include achieving world class competitiveness, ISO 9000 and organizational trends. Theoretical and practical examples of materials/logistics management are integrated with numerous real-life examples. This Second Edition of Total Materials Management presents accessible approaches for enhancing materials management/logistics, enabling personnel in purchasing, warehousing, physical distribution, materials handling, inventory control and production control to capitalize on vast opportunities for savings. This book is also an important resource for students in courses on materials/logistics management.

This comprehensive research based, well received book, now in its Second Edition, continues to provide the most complete up-to-date coverage of the materials management discipline. It is the result of intensive and in-depth interactions of the authors with academic community, IIMM professionals as well as senior executives involved in materials, inventory, warehousing, logistics, supply chain, working capital and top management. This title reflects the wealth of experience gained by the authors in India and abroad in training, research, teaching and consultancy. This well-organised comprehensive book clearly analyses all the concepts, processes and applications of Materials Management, Supply Chain Management, Logistics Management, and Multimodal Transport. It covers basic principles and practices concerning these areas as well as to its application in Indian conditions. This textbook describes the concept of integrated materials management with the help of diagrams, charts, photos and solved examples, covering all the aspects of materials management. It provides a number of solved practical problems and examples for better comprehension. The suggestions of practising professionals, academicians and researchers have been appropriately incorporated in this book. An attempt has been made to strike a balance between conceptual frameworks and practical aspects of materials and its management. Intended primarily as a textbook for graduate students pursuing materials management courses in Indian universities, this comprehensive title will also serve as a ready reckoner for the executives practising in areas such as materials, logistics, SCM, purchase, warehousing and inventory management. The students of business management, engineering, Indian Institute of Materials Management (IIMM) diploma and other related programs/courses will find this book extremely useful.

A solid introduction to materials management and the tools needed to create a world-class materials management program This nuts-and-bolts guide presents an overview of the inner workings of the materials process, as well as the best practices to achieve a world-class operating system that will help to eliminate ineffective materials management. Coverage includes discussion of material requirements planning, planning parameters, electronic data interchange, and material control graphs and reports, among many other topics. Thorough and practical, Materials Management explains the impact that inadequate inventory control has on a company and how these poor controls can reduce production, cause inefficiencies in labor, create excessive inventory, and increase freight expenses. Stan McDonald (Northville, MI) is an independent consultant on materials management. Throughout his 30-year career, he has held various positions in the supply chain/materials management arena.

Materials management is an essential business function. It is concerned with managing materials, one of the four basic resources (labour, material, equipment, capital). Until recently, it was concerned with purchasing raw materials and very few parts from local markets. Raw materials were used to make most of the parts for making end products. Materials management was regarded as a routine function and was given less importance. But over the years, firms began to procure more and more parts and subassemblies from local as well as global markets. Today over 50% of the revenue of the firms goes for procuring materials, parts and subassemblies from outside. As a result, materials management function has evolved from a clerical buying function into a strategic business function that helps firms to survive and grow. It creates competitive edge by creating superior value by delivering quality product or service on time and offering lower cost by cutting its own cost as well as cutting purchased item cost.Very few of the available texts offer a comprehensive view of the subject & data and examples and cases in the context of Indian industries are limited.The contents of the subject are undergoing rapid changes. Earlier, purchasing was mostly confined to raw materials by manufacturing firms whereas now a large part of it consists of parts, subassemblies and assemblies, beside raw materials. A smaller number of suppliers are preferred now-a-days. Global sourcing is an accepted norm. A change in supplier relations from adversarial to partnership is evident. Lot sizes and lead-times are smaller and there is greater use of information technology.The book is designed to provide comprehensive coverage of the field of materials management by including emerging concepts, practices, tools, techniques, heuristics and quantitative models. Other features of the book include:v Important topics like outsourcing, purchase strategies and enterprise resource planning.v Cases from Indian industries on vendor managed inventory, outsourcing, and spare parts inventory.v Definition of key terms.v Questions at the end of each chapter and answers of selected questions.The book can serve as a text for undergraduate and postgraduate level courses on materials management in the institutes of management, engineering and technology, materials, industrial engineering, operations research and others. It can also serve as a reference for managers, engineers, consultants, and others interested in the field.