New book takes supply chain management to the "X-treme"

Extremely complex, extremely dynamic, and extremely unpredictable: All of these describe today's supply chains. For those who must manage under these challenging and ever-changing conditions, the recently published book X-SCM: The New Science of X-treme Supply Chain Management, offers tools, in-depth analysis, and advice.

Edited by Sandor Boyson, Thomas Corsi, and Lisa H. Harrington of the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, X-SCM contains expert-contributed articles addressing how to manage supply chain risk and volatility. They cover such topics as network configuration, insourcing vs. outsourcing, multichannel demand and supply, and managing physical, virtual, financial, and services supply chains in times of volatility and high risk.

In addition to the written material, the book includes an online "tool kit" with a supply chain risk simulation, a real-time global supply chain simulation game, and analytic tools for assessing total logistics costs and emerging risks. It is the first supply chain book to make such tools available to readers.

The book, produced by the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Sterling Commerce, and CSCMP, will be available for purchase at CSCMP's Global Annual Conference in San Diego for US $59.95 for CSCMP members and US $69.95 for nonmembers.

CSCMP recognizes top academics, practitioner

While CSCMP's Annual Global Conference may primarily focus on offering attendees new learning opportunities, it also provides a chance to recognize those who have already made significant contributions to our understanding of the supply chain.

The following educators (both from academia and industry) will be recognized at this year's conference in San Diego:

• Charles L. (Chuck) Taylor, founder and principal of Awake! Consulting, will receive the prestigious Distinguished Service Award, the supply chain profession's highest recognition. A 40-year supply chain veteran, Taylor has worked throughout his career to push practitioners to adopt emerging strategies such as lean and third-party logistics and partnerships. His current passion is educating supply chain professionals about the importance of planning for probable fuel shortages in the new millennium. Taylor has written on that subject twice for Supply Chain Quarterly: "Are you ready for the end of cheap oil?" appeared in the inaugural issue in 2007, and "Prepare for a liquid fuel emergency" was published in the special "State of Logistics Report" issue in August.
• Matthias Ehrgott will receive the 2010 Doctoral Dissertation Award for his dissertation, Social and Environmental Sustainability in Supplier Management—A Stakeholder Theory Perspective on Antecedents and Outcomes. Dr. Ehrgott is assistant professor of international business and supply management at WHU—Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany, where he studied business administration.
• Auburn University Professor C. Clifford Defee and University of Tennessee professors Terry L. Esper, the late John T. Mentzer, and Theodore P. Stank will be honored with the Bernard J. La Londe Best Paper Award for their article on "The Role of Followers in Supply Chains." This article, which appeared in the July 2009 issue of Journal of Business Logistics, contends that while a great deal of research has focused on supply chain leaders, little has been said about "supply chain followers." The authors attempt to provide a framework for researching and discussing supply chain followers.
• Chad Allred of Brigham Young University, Amydee M. Fawcett of Lateral Line Analytics, Stanley E. Fawcett of Brigham Young University, Gregory M. Magnan of Seattle University, and Cynthia Wallin of Brigham Young University will receive the E. Grosvenor Plowman Award for their paper, "Evaluating Information Technology as a Supply Chain Collaboration Enabler: Insights from the Resource-Based View." The Plowman Award is given to the best paper submitted to CSCMP's Supply Chain Management Educators Conference, which occurs the day before the Annual Global Conference.

Find a wealth of resources in CSCMP's "virtual library"

CSCMP has long maintained a rich source of supply chain-related information and research in different parts of its website. Now all of that information has been collected and centrally located in the site's new, user-friendly "virtual library." These member-only resources include:

• The Annual Third-Party Logistics Study from Capgemini Consulting, Georgia Institute of Technology, Oracle, and Panalpina.
• A series of studies looking at the feasibility of using RFID tagging at the item level. A joint collaboration by CSCMP, University of Arkansas, and Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions (VICS), the studies discuss RFID initiatives conducted by specific retailers as well as the technology's potential use for electronic article surveillance.
• Practitioner case studies from companies such as Baxter Healthcare, Guinness, Marks & Spencer, Toyota, and Toys "R" Us.
• Back issues of the Journal of Business Logistics.
• CSCMP's Annual "State of Logistics Report."
• Informational papers on "connective technologies" that provide real-time data collection and communication.
• CSCMP publications such as CSCMP Global Perspectives, CSCMP Explores, and CSCMP Comment.

To access this content and much more, visit cscmp.org/memberonly/virtual-library.asp.

Ready to start hiring again?

Even in a sluggish economy, it can be difficult to find that perfect job candidate who possesses the exact skill set your organization needs. CSCMP's Career Center can help you refine your search and quickly identify a richer pool of candidates.

Unlike larger, more general job boards, CSCMP's Career Center is a niche site focused exclusively on the supply chain profession. Participating employers can post open positions or search CSCMP's candidate database. The database contains more than 1,000 supply chain professionals who are either actively or passively seeking employment. The Career Center offers many types of payment packages, including "pay per prospect" and a free résumé search. Companies can also choose to have the Career Center distribute their postings to other job boards.

Job seekers, for their part, can not only post their résumés and browse job openings but can also receive career coaching and job search tips. For more information about the Career Center, visit cscmp.org/career/resources.asp.