van Hoek, R. (2000), "Global Logistics and Distribution Planning Strategies for Management Third Edition", Supply Chain Management, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 214-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/scm.2000.5.4.214.1
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited
Global Logistics and Distribution Planning … was published first in 1988 under the editorship of James Cooper, a revised edition was published in 1990, a second edition in 1994 and a paperback edition in 1995. Now Donald Waters has edited the third edition and dedicated it to the memory of James Cooper.
Editing a book with such wide scope is a demanding task, especially with such a large group of authors (30, apart from the editor), many of which are highly recognized, and 26 chapters. The book starts with a top level part on formulating logistics strategy, in which authors (including Christopher, Schary and Hines) consistent with the following parts, point at the supply chain context and the need for supply chain integration. Andrew Cox, under the heading of thinking strategically about the supply chain, adds a purchasing, not logistics, biased chapter. Leveraging power and transaction based, rather than relation based interfaces are suggested, much in contrast to the other chapters – the role we know Cox likes to play!
The second part on implementing strategy has something of a retail focus with three out of 12 chapters. Two rather general and less specific logistics chapters cover benchmarking and business process reengineering. A very short paper by Davis, “A new approach to distribution”, is a consulting based paper that looks at outsourcing and mainly presents the experience of one company. The paper however follows a more comprehensive chapter on outsourcing of logistics activities in general by McKinnon. There is a chapter on training in logistics by Granville, very relevant in the context of implementation. Then there is a chapter on reducing transport energy consumption and logistics in city centres, all relevant topics by themselves but collectively making up a distinct section of the book, introduced by the editor with a chapter titled: “Judging performance of supply chain management”.
Part three on international logistics, is important in avoiding a (UK) bias in the book. The part includes region perspectives from Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, North America and Asia. Despite the overlaps between chapters, the difficulty of sequencing chapters and contributions in total the book is an interesting collection of a wide range of articles which together provide a comprehensive overview of the subject.