Customer-driven Supply Chains: Strategies for Lean and Agile Supply Chain Design

In recent years, the supply chain has become a key element to the survival and prosperity of organisations in different industry sectors. Organisations dealing in dynamic business environments demand supply chains that support the satisfaction of customer needs. The principles of lean thinking that once permeated standalone organisations have now been transferred to the supply chain, making imperative the development of innovative approaches to supply chain management. Customer-driven Supply Chains: Strategies for Lean and Agile Supply Chain Design reviews the concept of lean thinking and its relationship to other key initiatives associated with supply chain management. Detailed industrial case studies based on the authors’ experience illustrate the principles behind lean supply chains. Moreover, a series of diagrams are used to illustrate critical concepts and supply chain architectures. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of transferring lean principles from the organisational level to the supply chain level. The theory and principles behind lean supply chains are reviewed. Other concepts related to lean supply chains discussed in the book include: mass customisation, agility, information sharing and the bullwhip effect. A methodology used to measure the performance of supply chains is introduced; this methodology comprises the tools of decision timeline, data-flow diagramming, supply chain value stream mapping and a performance measurement scorecard. Readers will gain a clear picture of the competitive implications of lean supply chains. Customer-driven Supply Chains: Strategies for Lean and Agile Supply Chain Design will be a valuable resource of material to students studying supply chain/operations management as well as researchers in this field. Industry practitioners will learn how to develop sound supply chain strategies that can have a positive impact in their organisation.

Dr. Andrew C. Lyons has been a Lecturer in Operations Management at the University of Liverpool Management School since 2002. He gained his Ph.D. in Manufacturing Management in 1996 from the University of Liverpool. Dr. Lyon’s research interests include: operations strategy, supply chain design and performance measurement, supply chain information structures, mass customisation and build-to-order strategies. He is a member of the Institute of Operations Management (MIOM) and an associate member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers – Manufacturing Division (AMIEE). Dr. Adrian E. Coronado Mondragon is a Research Associate with the Future Supply Innovations Research Team (FUSION) e-business team at the University of Liverpool Management School. He gained his Ph.D. in 2002 from Brunel University and his MSc. in Engineering Project Management – Manufacturing in 1996 from the University of Birmingham. His current research has focused on testing an operational approach for the measurement of end-to-end supply chain performance and on investigating if automotive supply chain performance can be improved by supplying demand data to upstream players in the chain. His research agenda for the next few years involves studying innovative supply chain business models designed to facilitate the implementation of build-to-order initiatives.