Protean Supply Chains: Ten Dynamics of Supply and Demand Alignment

Preface

Six years ago, I was asked to become editor of a new magazine aimed at providing thought leadership for the global supply chain. The magazine, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' (CSCMP) Supply Chain Quarterly, was a joint venture between the professional organization CSCMP and Agile Business Media, which publishes the North American logistics magazine, DC Velocity.

As editor of the magazine, I have written about the transformational supply chain practices of leading companies, reported on business trends sweeping the globe, and had the opportunity to edit the writings from some of the finest thinkers in the field. My work on the Supply Chain Quarterly provided the basis for many of the ideas explored in this book. In my talks with supply chain chiefs, management consultants, industry analysts, and academics, it occurred to me that businesses across a number of industrial sectors would have to move beyond agility and flexibility in their operations to master the volatile business environment in the global economy. They would have to develop “protean” supply chains capable of quick adaptation to unfolding events to ensure the continued profitability of their enterprises. The why, the what, and the how of protean supply chains are the subject of this book.

My thinking about protean supply chains has evolved over the course of editing Supply Chain Quarterly. The core ideas outlined in this book have appeared in a much briefer form in the column that I write every ...