Logistics and supply chain management : strategies for reducing costs and improving services

Of the many changes that have taken place in management thinking since 1980, perhaps the most startling has been the growing recognition of the importance of logistics management. This is increasingly seen as a source of competitive strength - both because of the potential for cost reduction and for the opportunity it provides for capturing market share through enhanced service. financial goals; the use of service levels to segment markets - time-based competition; the use of appropriate measures to assess logistics productivity and the measurement of service performance. It provides practical guidance on auditing logistics systems and describes the use of customer surveys, opportunities for lead-time reduction and the principles of JIT. It also examines the opportunities that exist for substituting information for other, more costly, assets such as inventory or work-in-progress. To illustrate these points it uses case studies from a wide range of industries and countries. manufacturing in the UK and Europe. Also postgraduate students of logistics and distribution management and those studying for the professional qualifications of the Institute of Logistics and Distribution Management and Institute of Purchasing and Supply.