Flow: How the Best Supply Chains Thrive

This book describes the idea of FLOW, which relates back to the physical properties that exist in nature, specifically to the field of thermodynamics, the flow of electricity, the flow of data, the evolutionary flows of rivers, and the frictionless flow of materials. However, in the realm of business management, FLOW also refers to supply chain revolution, involving the integration of end-to-end supply chains, and the geographic relocation of global supply base. Achieving flow is essential for organizations seeking to improve their supply chain outcomes. This book highlights the high-level effectiveness of business strategies that use predictions based on the sequence of world events, global supply chains, and data between smart technologies. By broadly applying physical laws to the global supply chain, Rob Handfield and Tom Linton explore the impact of supply chain physics on global market policies, such as tariffs, factory location, pandemic response, supply base geographies, and outsourcing.Flow adheres to the laws of motion as guideposts for decision-making in network design, sourcing decisions, factory location, management and training, and a host of other key decisions. Chapters provide specific recommendations on what to do to improve supply chain movement, and includes important insights for managers along with engaging interviews with companies including Biogen, General Motors, Siemens, and Flex on their response to COVID-19. Flow is an important resource for management teams hoping to elevate the enterprise-level success of their organizations.
Flow helps organizations to remedy rampant inefficiencies that exist in global supply chains, with productivity improvements never seen before in the history of mankind.