University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
E-Supply Chain
Book

E-Supply Chain

Using the Internet to Revolutionize Your Business

Charles C. Poirier and Michael J. Bauer
Berrett-Koehler, 2000
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Charles C. Poirier and Michael J. Bauer assert that the future of the American company will resemble an Internet version of the Japanese Keiretsu, interlocked firms within firms. This new value chain constellation - which shares buying, selling and customer information in real time - will offer advantages and services that no single company could ever hope to match working solo. getAbstract.com predicts that this will become a necessary textbook for any CEO or CPO who wants to maximize profits via supply chain optimization.

Summary

E-Keiretsu

A Tsunami-like change is overtaking global business - an irresistible force of communication called the Internet. Because of the Internet, businesses will have to change fundamentally. A new breed of leaders now must work to find ways to link their companies’ supply chains into networks of function and communication that create serious competitive advantages. Customers will demand that businesses adapt to their needs and to the changing technology. Companies will either learn to use all the available technology in coordination with other members of their supply chain or they will face the risk of total failure in this new digital environment.

The Internet will transform the way the supply chain works. When you improve supply chain transactions, your company benefits from shortened cycle times, strategic purchase sourcing, reduced inventory, lower logistics costs and a streamlining of its entire communications network. Corporations need to redefine themselves not just as effective businesses, but as effective businesses within the context of a value chain constellation. To be effective, American firms need to become involved in structures that resemble the...

About the Authors

Charles C. Poirier is a partner in the CSC National Supply Chain Practice and is an expert on supply chain management. An industry veteran with nearly 40 years experience, he served as CEO of a $450 million enterprise. Michael J. Bauer is a partner in CSC’s Electronic Commerce Practice. He has worked with many companies worldwide to help them add value, increase marketability and raise profitability across business practices.

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