For many years, procurement, materials management and logistics were regarded as the responsibility of either operations or marketing departments. The late 1980s saw the shift in focus to supply management, and later to supply chain management. Since the early 1990s, the field has become increasingly important to firms as the marketplace has become more and more competitive. Strategic logistics management takes a systematic approach to managing the entire flow of materials, information, services and finance from raw materials suppliers through factories and warehousing, to the end user. Strategic logistics management covers the operational and strategic aspects of all the components of logistics from a supply chain management perspective. It focuses on the integration of all business processes that add value to the customer. The book has been divided into five sections for easy access, with the final one focusing on case studies. Terminology is clearly explained and the main points are illustrated with many practical examples. A new chapter on humanitarian logistics has been provided. Strategic logistics management is aimed at undergraduate studies as well as graduate programmes. It is the only case study-based South African textbook in this field.

The advent of globalisation has increased complexity for organisations, extending supply chains across large geographical areas, making them longer and more difficult to manage than ever before. Megatrends such as global economic shifts, increased consumer awareness, the rise in information technology, global pandemic outbreaks and climate change highlight a range of new challenges facing business. Strategic logistics management takes a systematic approach to managing the entire flow of materials, information, services and finance from raw material suppliers through manufacturing and warehousing, to the end user. Strategic logistics management covers the operational and strategic aspects of all the components of business logistics from a supply chain management perspective. It focuses on the integration of all business processes that add value to the customer. Terminology is clearly explained, and the main points are illustrated with practical examples. Strategic logistics management is aimed at undergraduate students and graduate programmes in the field of supply chain management.

Good operations and supply chain management practices are fundamental for the survival of both private and public organisations offering goods or rendering services. Because these practices are subject to evolving market and macro issues, which are themselves intrinsic to micro practices and processes, it is of great importance to study, understand and address current concerns. Contemporary issues in operations and supply chain management reveals a wide range of present-day matters that focus on the deep multiplicity of relationships between operations, supply chains and the changing business environment. Contemporary issues in operations and supply chain management offers tools and techniques to cope with the ever-increasing forces of supply versus demand, against the backdrop of limited resources and a constantly changing business environment. It offers a well-balanced approach between theory and practice by including contemporary issues and cases within the industry, Africa and the rest of the world. Contemporary issues in operations and supply chain management aims to have international reach and relevance for a broad audience, including but not necessarily limited to business practitioners of all kinds in any sector middle and senior managers in industry (both buyer and supplier organisations) academia - undergraduates and post graduates form higher education establishments, universities and colleges professional bodies (as recommended text/learning materials) members of industry trade associations and anyone else seeking insights into contemporary issues in operations and supply chain management. Professionals with years of experience in the field will benefit from this book as methods and strategies inherited from the past appear to no longer fit the realities presented by the ever changing modern business environment.

The study of language acquisition has become a center of scientific inquiry into the nature of the human mind. The result is a windfall of new information about language, about learning, and about children themselves.

In "Language Acquisition" Jill and Peter de Villiers provide a lively introduction to this fast-growing field. Their book deals centrally with the way the child acquires the sounds, meanings, and syntax of his language, and the way he learns to use his language to communicate with others. In discussing these issues, the de Villiers provide a clear and insightful treatment of the classic questions about language acquisition: Does the child show a genetic predisposition for speech, or grammar, or semantics which makes him uniquely able to learn human language? What kinds of learning are involved in acquiring language and what kinds of experience with a language are necessary to support such learning? Is there a critical period during the child's development which is optimal for language acquisition? And what kind of psychological disabilities underlie the failure to acquire language?