In this book, which is a more or less unabridged version of his dissertation, Holger Köhler not only presents a (new) system for the systematization of supply chain risks, he also develops a model for the factors that influence supplier risk and brings it together in a novel way that I haven’t seen before.
Obviously, selecting the right third-party logistics provider (3PL) for your supply chain is an important decision in supply chain risk management, but not every country decides in the same manner. While Americans focus on commitment, Germans appear to rely more on trust. Why is that?
Historically, third-party logistics providers, or 3PLs, provided traditional logistics services, such as transportation and warehouse management, and nothing more than that, but 3PLs have evolved to becoming orchestrators of supply chains that create and sustain a competitive advantage.
Supply chain and operations management are increasingly global, and China has become the world’s manufacturing centre. That is why the International Journal of Applied Management Science (IJAMS) has issued a call for papers for a special issue on Supply Chain and Operations Management in China.
This article, at the China Sourcing Blog, points at what is probably the weakest link in global supply chains: the fact that the more you outsource, the less control you have over your supply chain. In essence, by outsourcing, you give someone else control over your supply chain.
