Operations and Supply Chain Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know (Self-Learning Management Series) - (Paperback)

About the Book

Have you ever wondered what your peers meant by "Supply Chain" or "Operations", or why either of these fields matter? What about people that work in these roles - what do they actually do?

Book Synopsis

*** Best suited for Managers, Supply Chain Experts or curious Laypersons ***

After reading this book, you will be able to answer the following questions:

• What is Operations and Supply Chain Management and why is it important?
• What are the key functions within this field, and how do they interact with one another and the broader business?
• What are the responsibilities and decisions that managers in each functional area think about?
• How will disruptions in the Supply Chain impact the business world and our lives?

Have you ever wondered what your peers meant by "Supply Chain" or "Operations", or why either of these fields matter? What about people that work in these roles - what do they actually do? In Operations and Supply Chain Management Essentials, these questions and more will be answered.

This useful guide uses a hypothetical company and the consumer product they make, to explain how the various functions within the Supply Chain intertwine to bring a finished product to life for consumers in the market. You will understand the story of how new demands, changing preferences, and unforeseen circumstances force this fictional company to adapt in order to survive. Through this book, you will understand and appreciate how these activities, including logistics and warehouse management, make everyday products and services available at our disposal - and why this is increasingly important for companies to pay attention to. The simple format and non-technical language of this book will attract even laypersons looking for a quick, comprehensive overview of supply chain management.

About the Series

The Self-Learning Management Series is designed to help students, new managers, career switchers and entrepreneurs learn essential management lessons. This series addresses every aspect of business from HR to Finance to Marketing to Operations across any and every industry.

Review Quotes

Ashley McDonough has successfully broken down the principles of Operations and Supply Chain Management in a guide called Operations and Supply Chain Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know. It is an in-depth book, which does more than explain the concepts. McDonough takes an example of the production of pairs of scissors through Planning, Control Systems, Procurement, Purchasing, Sourcing, and Manufacturing. The author then introduces us to principles of quality and brings us through the logistics of distribution of the scissors. There is wonderful continuity told in plain language while bringing us through an example from the first phase through logistics. Each concept is easily explained in non-technical language. The specific examples bring the concepts to life. One caution―this is not a quick read. To fully understand and appreciate it, the reader needs to pay close attention to how the examples illustrate each section. It is well worth the extra time, as the author carefully lays out the process from start to finish, and makes operations management and logistics quite understandable to the reader. The descriptions of Theory of Constraints (Chapter 4), Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement (Chapter 5), and Logistics (Chapter 6) are excellent explanations of manufacturing, concerns, quality concepts, and logistics. Operations and Supply Chain Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know by Ashley McDonough is a valuable book for anyone interested in first learning the concepts and also for those wanting an overview as well as explanations of specific concepts. It is excellent in its use of an example, specifically following a pair of scissors from start to finish. This makes it much easily understood by the reader.

--Readers' Favorite

Operations and Supply Chain Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know by Ashley McDonough is a valuable book for anyone interested in first learning the concepts and also for those wanting an overview as well as explanations of specific concepts. It is excellent in its use of examples.

I think the book would be valuable for a junior level undergraduate class in SCM. Maybe a course that all business students should take to get a clear understanding of the concepts of the overall supply chain. The efforts to put together a relatively succinct text on OSCM is appreciated.

--Wendy L. Tate, Co-Editor in Chief, Journal of Purchase and Supply Management

The book is nicely written and I will recommend this book as an useful reference text book. For someone who doesn't have a lot of time and is looking for a quick point of reference to Operations and Supply Chain Management, this is THE book for them. This book is perfect for students at undergraduate and graduate courses. If you are a PhD student, you may want to resort to the classical books.

--Rameshwar Dubey, Editor - Journal of Supply Chain Management System