It has been said that every generation of historians seeks to rewrite what a previous generation had established as the standard interpretations of the motives and circumstances shaping the fabric of historical events. It is not that the facts of history have changed. No one will dispute that the battle of Waterloo occurred on June 11, 1815 or that the allied invasion of Europe began on June 6, 1944. What each new age of historians are attempting to do is to reinterpret the motives of men and the force of circumstance impacting the direction of past events based on the factual, social, intellectual, and cultural milieu of their own generation. By examining the facts of history from a new perspective, today's historians hope to reveal some new truth that will not only illuminate the course of history but also validate contempo rary values and societal ideals. Although it is true that tackling the task of developing a new text on logistics and distribution channel management focuses less on schools of philosophical and social analysis and more on the calculus of managing sales campaigns, inventory replenishment, and income statements, the goal of the management scientist, like the historian, is to merge the facts and figures of the discipline with today's organizational, cultural, and economic realities. Hopefully, the result will be a new synthesis, where a whole new perspective will break forth, exposing new directions and opportunities.

This third edition provides operations management students, academics, and professionals with a fully up-to-date, practical and comprehensive sourcebook in the science of distribution and Supply Chain Management (SCM). Its objective is not only to discover the roots and detail the techniques of supply and delivery channel networks, but also to explore the impact of the merger of SCM concepts and information technologies on all aspects of internal business and supply channel management. This textbook provides a thorough and sometimes analytical view of the topic, while remaining approachable from the standpoint of the reader. Although the text is broad enough to encompass all the management activities found in today's logistics and distribution channel organizations, it is detailed enough to provide the reader with a thorough understanding of essential strategic and tactical planning and control processes, as well as problem-solving techniques that can be applied to everyday operations. Distribution Planning and Control: Managing in the Era of Supply Chain Management, 3rd Ed. is comprised of fifteen chapters, divided into five units. Unit 1 of the text, The SCM and Distribution Management Environment, sets the background necessary to understand today's supply chain environment. Unit 2, SCM Strategies, Channel Structures, and Demand Management, reviews the activities involved in performing strategic planning, designing channel networks, forecasting, and managing channel demand. Unit 3, Inventory Management in the Supply Chain Environment, provides an in-depth review of managing supply chain inventories, statistical inventory management, and inventory management in a multiechelon channel environment. Unit 4, Supply Chain Execution, traces the translation of the strategic supply chain plans into detailed customer and supplier management, warehousing, and transportation operations activities. Finally Unit 5, International Distribution and Supply Chain Technologies, concludes the text by exploring the role of two integral elements of SCM: international distribution management and the deployment of information technologies in the supply chain environment. Each chapter includes summary questions and problems to challenge readers to their knowledge of concepts and topics covered. Additionally supplementary materials for instructors are also available as tools for learning reinforcement.

When work began on the first volume ofthis text in 1992, the science of dis tribution management was still very much a backwater of general manage ment and academic thought. While most of the body of knowledge associated with calculating EOQs, fair-shares inventory deployment, productivity curves, and other operations management techniques had long been solidly established, new thinking about distribution management had taken a definite back-seat to the then dominant interest in Lean thinking, quality management, and business process reengineering and their impact on manufacturing and service organizations. For the most part, discussion relating to the distri bution function centered on a fairly recent concept called Logistics Manage ment. But, despite talk of how logistics could be used to integrate internal and external business functions and even be considered a source of com petitive advantage on its own, most of the focus remained on how companies could utilize operations management techniques to optimize the traditional day-to-day shipping and receiving functions in order to achieve cost contain ment and customer fulfillment objectives. In the end, distribution manage ment was, for the most part, still considered a dreary science, concerned with oftransportation rates and cost trade-offs. expediting and the tedious calculus Today, the science of distribution has become perhaps one of the most im portant and exciting disciplines in the management of business.

When work began on the first volume ofthis text in 1992, the science of dis tribution management was still very much a backwater of general manage ment and academic thought. While most of the body of knowledge associated with calculating EOQs, fair-shares inventory deployment, productivity curves, and other operations management techniques had long been solidly established, new thinking about distribution management had taken a definite back-seat to the then dominant interest in Lean thinking, quality management, and business process reengineering and their impact on manufacturing and service organizations. For the most part, discussion relating to the distri bution function centered on a fairly recent concept called Logistics Manage ment. But, despite talk of how logistics could be used to integrate internal and external business functions and even be considered a source of com petitive advantage on its own, most of the focus remained on how companies could utilize operations management techniques to optimize the traditional day-to-day shipping and receiving functions in order to achieve cost contain ment and customer fulfillment objectives. In the end, distribution manage ment was, for the most part, still considered a dreary science, concerned with oftransportation rates and cost trade-offs. expediting and the tedious calculus Today, the science of distribution has become perhaps one of the most im portant and exciting disciplines in the management of business.

When work began on the first volume ofthis text in 1992, the science of dis tribution management was still very much a backwater of general manage ment and academic thought. While most of the body of knowledge associated with calculating EOQs, fair-shares inventory deployment, productivity curves, and other operations management techniques had long been solidly established, new thinking about distribution management had taken a definite back-seat to the then dominant interest in Lean thinking, quality management, and business process reengineering and their impact on manufacturing and service organizations. For the most part, discussion relating to the distri bution function centered on a fairly recent concept called Logistics Manage ment. But, despite talk of how logistics could be used to integrate internal and external business functions and even be considered a source of com petitive advantage on its own, most of the focus remained on how companies could utilize operations management techniques to optimize the traditional day-to-day shipping and receiving functions in order to achieve cost contain ment and customer fulfillment objectives. In the end, distribution manage ment was, for the most part, still considered a dreary science, concerned with oftransportation rates and cost trade-offs. expediting and the tedious calculus Today, the science of distribution has become perhaps one of the most im portant and exciting disciplines in the management of business.

This third edition includes updates in manufacturing logistics, integrated logistics, process design and home delivery, and brand new sections on warehouse receipt and dispatch.

The fully revised new edition of this well known and respected book is characterized by the more international perspective it has taken on through contributions from internationally known authors and a final section on international logistics which examines in turn strategies for West and East Europe, the Far East and North America. Logistics has a key strategic role to play in the long-term plans of major companies, and is recognized as a vital part of every organization. To a large extent this crucial new role is due to an expanded view of logistics, which now includes all the activities related to the supply chain from initial suppliers through to final customers. This book provides a wealth of useful ideas and practical information on all the current and future trends in logistics and distribution. Written by a host of contributors drawn from industry, constancy and education, this book provides new insights into the most significant aspects of logistics, including: developments in logistics supply chain strategies lean logistics efficient customer response logistics in different countries partnering and strategic alliances re-engineering the logistics function From logistics professionals, consultants, professors and students to managers from different backgrounds who want an appreciation of current trends in the subject, this book is essential reading. About the author: Donald Waters, a past member if the Institute of Logistics and currently a member of the Canadian Association of Logistics Management, has lectured weekly on logistics, operational research and management science, and has brought his academic career to fruition as Professor of Operations Management at the University Calgary, Canada. He is also the author of Operations Management in the Kogan Page Fast Track MBA Series. Features