Purchasing and Financial Management of Information Technology aims to significantly reduce the amount of money wasted on IT by providing readers with a comprehensive guide to all aspects of planning, managing and controlling IT purchasing and finance. Starting from a recognition that IT purchasing and the financial management often needs to be treated differently from other types of expenditure, the author draws on over 25 years of experience in the field to provide readers with useful mixture of good procedures and common sense rules that have been tried, tested and found to work. Many of these are illustrated by case histories, each with a moral or a lesson. Purchasing and Financial Management of Information Technology provides useful guidelines and advice on whole range of topics including: * IT acquisitions policy * Dealing with suppliers * Budgeting and cost control * IT cost and risk management * Specification, selection and evaluation of systems * IT value for money

A new book covering the Professional Stage syllabus for th e Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's Legal Asp ects course. The book is completely up-to-date and incorpo rates all of the relevant changes in legislation up to 200 1. The text is clear and concise and an excellent aid for those new to the subject but wishing to achieve a high lev el of understanding as quickly as possible. The book will also prove to be a useful asset to practising purchasing m anagers who require a clear and concise guide to relevant law.

This book describes the fundamentals of Supply Chain Management in clear and concise terms. It explains why in the near future real competition is going to be between supply chains and what the consequences will be. Managers and decision-makers will be able to build on their business's competitive advantage with the essentials provided in this work. The focus here is upon what you really need to know in order to optimally manage your processes in procurement, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics. In addition to a wealth of illustrations and examples, valuable suggestions for further expansive reading are included. Essential insights are provided into how to analyse and evaluate the supply chain, based upon key aspects from research and practice, which helps readers to initiate their own optimisation processes.

From supply chain management to entrepreneurship and social responsibility, The 30 Day MBA in International Business provides a comprehensive insight into this fascinating sector. It is difficult to understand the complexities and nuances of international business without comprehensive and expert teachings on its many sectors. This book demystifies the complexities of this growing industry, as it draws upon the insights from the MBA courses from the top business schools. These teachings are supported by fascinating case studies from some of the world's leading organizations. With its comprehensive insights and accessible guidance, The 30 Day MBA in International Business is essential reading whether you are a professional looking to accelerate your career or a student interested in expanding your knowledge. About the 30 Day MBA Series... MBAs are expensive, demanding and time-consuming. Covering marketing, finance and international business, this internationally bestselling series offers you the same world-class insights and guidance without the costly investment.

'Supply Chain Management Workbook' provides an overview of the supply chain process and addresses the key aspects involved in a supply chain. A checklist is included to enable an assessment of a company's procedures and the facilities it offers. By working through this list of questions the weaknesses in the management of the supply chain can be identified and subsequently addressed.The combination of theoretical underpinning along with a means of self evaluation results in a practical guide which will be invaluable for companies wishing to improve their supply chain management.Published in Association with The Institute of Operations Management, http: //www.iomnet.org.uk.

COVID-19 has demanded management innovations across all sectors. As urban systems are made more sustainable, and our focus shifts towards the Circular Economy, this timely book sheds new light on emerging issues. Contributions to this volume highlight developments in: smart cities and urban innovation and resilience; building and re-building cross-culturally sustainable tourism and recreation; new international business models in a digitally transforming world; how digital tools are being used to promote STEM education in the 'new normal' post-2020 world; food insecurity and energy policy in Latin America; the role of leadership in teleworking and job satisfaction in the Asia-Pacific region; economic and socio-cultural impacts of recreational activities affected by COVID-19; entrepreneurship in COVID-19 times; and the integration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in higher education institutions. Presenting new, innovative conceptualizations and viewpoints on management, Sustainable Management in COVID-19 Times explores a range of concepts that give insights into our post-pandemic world.

Optimizing Supply Chain Performance takes industrial case studies from SMEs in China to examine the importance of information sharing and coordinated management as essential mechanisms to improve supply chain performance.

Four questions determine whether a company is using interorganizational cost management.

• Does your firm set specific cost-reduction objectives for its suppliers?
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• Does your firm help its customers and/or suppliers find ways to achieve their cost-education objectives?
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• Does your firm take into account the profitability of its suppliers when negotiating component pricing with them?
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• Is your firm continuously making its buyer-supplier interfaces more efficient?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no," your firm risks introducing products that cost too much or are not competitive. The full potential of the supply network can be realized only when the entire supply chain adopts interorganizational cost management practices.

Competitive pressure has led many firms to try to increase the efficiency of supplier firms through interorganizational cost management systems, a structured approach tocoordinating the activities of firms in a supplier network to reduce the total costs in the network.
It is particularly important to lean enterprises for two reasons:

• Lean enterprises typically outsource more of the added value of their products than their mass producer counterparts.
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• Lean enterprises usually compete more aggressively and must manage costs more effectively.

Interorganizational cost management can reduce costs in three ways: through product design, through product manufacture and through cooperative approaches between buyers and suppliers to build smoother interfaces.
However, more than just cost management must cross interorganizational boundaries. Suppliers are also a major source ofinnovation for lean enterprises. Successful supplier networks encourage every firm in the network to innovate and compete more aggressively. Read this book to learn to manage the supply chain to forge competitive advantage while reducing costs.

During recent years, competitive pressures and short product lifecycles have caused many manufacturing and retail companies to focus on supply chain management practices and applications. Continuing shifts in the geopolitical situation and emerging markets have opened up new business opportunities, and at the same time kept companies busy revising their supply chain structures manufacturing locations, warehouse locations, inbound logistics, and distribution operations. This has led to an increased demand in strategic supply chain planning tools, such as supply chain simulators and location optimization tools.

New techniques and practices for highly efficient supply chain management, made possible by the rapid progress in information and communication technologies, are explained in this book. It is written by supply chain researchers, consultants, and supply chain practitioners who have not only developed the practices but have deployed these practices in various supply chains at IBM and other companies."

This book deals with the process of improving our sensemaking capabilities into how to: scan environments actively to gather data that is relevant to pressing issues; interpret usefully what we see -- including recognizing and framing problems/opportunities and skills in transforming data into information; make effective decisions -- including creating useful rules for deciding how to decide, and how to talk with ourselves and others to receive and offer useful information, make wise choices, and implement decisions well; and evaluate well what we have done and what has occurred. These four topics are the activities of sensemaking -- an ongoing conversation with yourself and others about what is really happening and why it is occurring. Sensemaking involves placing stimuli into some kind of framework that is understandable to ourselves. Usually sensemaking is done automatically -- unconsciously -- without thinking actively about the usefulness or accuracy of our frames, or the process being used in our framing. However, sensemaking can be done consciously, that is, using controlled thinking instead of the usual automatic thinking processes. The contributions in this volume offer skill-building case exercises that are written to help you improve your sensemaking abilities.

Inventory and Supply Chain Decisions with Forecast Updates is concerned with the problems of inventory and supply chain decision-making with information updating over time. The models considered include inventory decisions with multiple sources and delivery modes, supply-contract design and evaluation, contracts with exercise price, volume-flexible contracts allowing for spot-market purchase decisions, and competitive supply chains. Real problems are formulated into tractable mathematical models, which allow for an analysis of various approaches, and provide insights for better supply chain management. The book provides a unified treatment of these models, presents a critique of the existing results, and points out potential research directions. Attention is focused on solutions - that is, inventory decisions prior and subsequent to information updates and the impact of the quality of information on these decisions.

Managing Resources is the absolute guide to all areas of resource control. It includes:
* Thorough coverage of all areas of resource control for supervisors.
* Clear explanations of theories and techniques of control.
* Practical exercises to reinforce skills and knowledge.
* Application of theory to the work-based problem's facing today's managers.
The Team Leader Development Series is an essential tool towards gaining the Supervisory Management Award. Consisting of four practical and interactive textbooks, this series will be invaluable not only to students, but also as a guide individuals and organisations seeking to improve their business performance at the first level of management.
Key learning features:
* Learning Objectives to enable the reader to assess the knowledge gained throughout the series.
* Activities to put the learning into practice.
* Case studies - 'true-life' scenarios!
* Workbased Assignments which will provide evidence for S/NVQ portfolios.
* Language is straightforward and direct, contextualised to relate to team leaders and supervisory managers working in a wide range of industry sectors.
* Influential protagonists in the field will be alluded to as appropriate to support the learning.
* Action plan to take the learning forward.
Thorough coverage of all areas of resource control for supervisors.
Clear explanations of theories and techniques of control.
Practical exercises to reinforce skills and knowledge.

Mass Customization: Challenges and Solutions defines the parameters of the emerging business strategy, mass customization. The book will cover the main categories of the area with a systematic examination of the following themes: manufacturing systems and mass customization, supply chain management and mass customization, and information systems and mass customization.

In addition to being tightly organized by themes and a carefully selected group of contributors, the Editors will write introductory material to the sections along with introductory and concluding chapters. The result is a book that provides the field with the conceptual framework of mass customization, its tools, its solutions, and real-world examples of successful implementations of the business strategy. An important book for academics working in production operations, production manufacturing, industrial engineering, logistics, supply chain management, and industry practitioners.

Supply chain management has gained wide importance for companies that produce goods or services. Though it is well understood that shifting from the single company to the whole supply chain triggers the need for reorganization and reengineering, strategic management or organizational theories have not yet been incorporated in supply chain management. This volume addresses the intersection between organizational theory, strategic management and supply chain management. Within the 23 chapters of the book, 35 authors show how new concepts help companies and their suppliers and customers to coordinate efficiently the partners in a supply chain. The concepts and methodologies presented are illustrated with case studies from various industries and logistical services.

This book contains practical experiences, knowledge, and insights in the evolution, formulation, and implementation of strategies and models for flexibility, innovation, and sustainable business. The book discussed the increasing significance of a flexible approach by businesses as much as possible in every area of their work-from employment policies to supply chain management (SCM). It further links this flexible approach to a sustainability strategy, which is necessary to be competitive today and in the future. This business approach is necessary to create long-term value by considering how a given organization operates in the ecological, social, and economic environment. This is linked to the next theme of the book-innovation-which is fundamental for a business to improve its processes, develop new and improved products and services for the market, increase its efficiency, and, most importantly, get better profitability. The book also delves into another buzz word in business-analytics. Companies have widely embraced the use of analytics to streamline operations and improve processes. The book explores all these critical emerging areas through the chapters in its five sections and is invaluable for management students and researchers, practicing business managers, consultants, professional institutions, and government and corporate organizations.

Gain a comprehensive insight into the ideas and approaches to purchasing and procurement Now in its 12th edition, Procurement Principles and Management in the Digital Age by Baily, Farmer, Crocker and Jessop has been essential reading for practitioners and students of purchasing, procurement and supply chain management for nearly 50 years. The text has been updated to cover the continuous developments taking place in this field, and carefully balances emerging philosophies with proven and established thinking and practice in the profession. This new edition covers various existing and future concerns in procurement and supply chain such as digitalisation, sustainability and resilience. This ever-popular title offers: * relevant case studies and research boxes that explore the topics introduced in the chapter in detail * latest global examples of best practice in many key areas of purchasing and procurement * expanded treatment of key topics, including supplier diversity, supplier relationship management, sustainability, retail procurement and category management * additional material on Industry 4.0 elements such as e-procurement, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, Big Data, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots and analytics * post-Brexit implications on public sector procurement * long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on procurement and supply chain * increased focus on social value strategies and approaches, contract management, procurement of consultancy and supply chain resilience approaches. About the authors: Peter Baily was Senior Lecturer at the Polytechnic of Wales and chief examiner for Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS). David Farmer was Professor of Management Studies at Henley Management College. Barry Crocker is former Senior Lecturer at Salford University and former assistant examiner for CIPS. David Jessop is Emeritus Professor at University of South Wales and a Fellow of the CIPS. Pearson, the world's learning company

Parts are commonly used in making, repairing or maintaining consumer or industry products. Parts could be purchased or manufactured by a business enterprise. Advance models were applied to parts operations for manufacturers of transport refrigeration equipment and high-pressure positive displacement plunger pumps. Both companies have an established network of dealers for sales and service of equipment and parts. A number of areas in the parts business operation were researched which show the potential for improved operational efficiency and customer service that increase market share when advanced process models were used to integrate the supply chain. This book covers the subject of parts management through: (1) an introduction to areas of parts business operation with potential for substantial improvements and overview of various models proposed in Chapter 1; (2) quantitative effects on customer service level of inventory miscount and lead time variability and methods to reduce these factors in Chapter 2; (3) optimal division of items based on economics within a two-level distribution system; which items should be serviced through dealers and which items directly by the company to end-customers in Chapters; (4) optimal ordering procedures for a multi-item common supplier system with either constant or random demand rates for various items in Chapter 4; Vll viii Parts Management Models and Applications (5) attribute based classification scheme to promote standardization of design and manufacturing techniques for expediting product development and control design proliferation in Chapters 5 and 6; (6) knowledge base management to enhance manufacturing operations effectiveness in Chapter 7;

This book provides insights from research and practice in how organizations were able to sustain resilience in their global supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic and to advance the understanding of supply chain risk management. The chapters highlight the lessons learned, insist on new models for resilience, suggest improved supply chain risk methodologies and bridge the gap between research and practice. It helps readers acquire greater knowledge, strategic approaches, new methods, and practical tools for ensuring global supply chain resilience.

The past decade has shown an increasing level of interest, research and application of quantitative models and computer based tools in the process industry. These models and tools constitute the basis of so-called Advanced Planning Systems which have gained considerable attention in practice. In particular, OR methodology has been applied to analyze and support the design of supply networks, the planning and scheduling of operations, and control issues arising in the production of food and beverages, chemicals, pharmaceutical, for instance. This book provides both new insights and successful solutions to problems of production planning and scheduling, logistics and supply chain management. It comprises reports on the state of the art, applications of quantitative methods, as well as case studies and success stories from industry. Its contributions are written by leading experts from academia and business. The book addresses practitioners working in industry as well as academic researchers in production, logistics, and supply chain management.   

Proven Solutions for Improving Supply Chain Performance is a collection of about 175 descriptions of scientific management studies in the management of supply chains. Each one of the descriptions of the scientific studies is presented in readable and understandable form for individuals who probably have not had the statistical and scientific education and training to fully understand the underlying studies. The book is significantly different from the popular management literature, which is generally based on ""armchair"" theories that have little basis on fact, and seldom have been scientifically verified. Although the book is targeted for the supply chain manager/administrator, it can also be used as a supplementary reader in such courses as Operations Management, Service Systems Management, Manufacturing Management, Purchasing Management, and, of course, in Supply Chain Management courses.

This book provides a holistic and practical approach to managing supply chains risks and presents a new framework model for sustainable optimization of risk management. This framework includes supportive tools for risk mapping and strategic decision-making. Managers can apply tailored versions of this framework for the management process of their respective sector. The authors provide case studies in industries such as automotive, aviation, airport, and healthcare.

This book covers central issues in mitigating supply chain risks from various perspectives. Today's supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions that can have a significant impact on firms, business and performance. The aim of supply chain risk management is to identify the potential sources of risks and implement appropriate actions in order to mitigate supply chain disruptions. In this regard, the book presents a wealth of methods, strategies and analyses that are essential for mitigating supply chain risks. As a comprehensive collection of the latest research and cutting-edge developments in supply chain risk and its mitigation, the book is structured into four main parts, addressing supply chain risk strategies and developments; supply chain risk management review; supply chain sustainability and resilience; and supply chain analysis and risk management applications. The contributing authors are leading academic researchers and practitioners, who combine findings and research results with a practical and contemporary view on how companies can best manage supply chain risks and disruptions, as well as how to create resilient and sustainable supply chains. This book can be used as an essential resource for students and scholars who are interested in pursuing research or teaching courses on the rapidly growing field of supply chain management. It also offers an interesting and informative read for managers and practitioners who need to deepen their understanding of effective supply chain risk management.

Outsourcing has become one of the most important trends used in managing the enterprise during the last ten years and is now transforming the corporation. At the same time, it is one of the most talked about and hotly debated topics of our times. This book analyses these trends with leading outsourcing practitioners providing a strategic look at how the modern corporation can succeed through outsourcing, the pitfalls and hidden costs of offshoring, what to include in an outsourcing contract, and what outsourcing will look like in the future.