Supply Chain Project Management
A Structured Collaborative and Measurable Approach
James B. Ayers
Auerbach Publications, 2003
640 pages, ISBN: 0849331609, Cat. #: AU3160
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Implementation and execution are the goals of best-performing managers in today’s global markets. It is no longer sufficient to devise sophisticated strategies that are impractical or impossible to implement.

Supply chain management (SCM) makes even greater demands. Multi-company, multi-national, and multi-cultural supply chains make a disciplined approach even more a necessity. Supply Chain Project Management presents a blueprint for managers who need to manage these complex supply chains.

Section I explains SCM in the 21^st Century, including the seven drivers of supply chain change. These drivers include the most important aspect of a supply chain’s design – flexibility.

Section II, Project Management and SCM, describes the role of project management disciplines in designing and improving supply chains. For guidance, the book turns to the Project Management Institute’s Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK®. The book explores the nine PMBOK knowledge areas in terms of the demand SCM places on each. Section II also encourages use of a self-assessment tool from Harold Kerzner, an influential expert on project management. This “maturity model” measures an organization’s progress in using project management to implement change.

Other Section II topics include the Supply-Chain Council’s SCOR model and “lessons learned” about the root causes for project failures from information technology projects.

Section III, Supply Chain Management Project Processes, provides detailed templates for readers’ application to their own supply chains. The processes include supply chain strategy development, building cross department and inter-company relationships, and improving supply chain efficiency. Each description shows how the reader can assess where they stand in making SCM a competitive weapon for their companies.

Case studies from supply chain practitioners, an ample glossary, and bibliography provide additional tools and techniques. Click here for a review from Supply Chain Management Review.