Lean & Agile Value Chain Management: A Guide to the Next Level of Improvement

One of the biggest challenges for companies in today’s competitive environment is to get products to customers when and where they need it, exactly the way they want it, with a competitive price and in a cost effective manner. Managing the value chain is becoming more complicated because of globalization, outsourcing, the need for shorter time to market, and the requirements for greater responsiveness and flexibility due to customer changes.

Although the benefits of applying lean concepts or improving the flexibility of a value chain are clear and desperately needed in today’s competitive environment, none of the current literature provides guidance on how to do this. Lean & Agile Value Chain Management fills that gap by providing a breakthrough start-to-finish roadmap for organizations to implement a lean and agile value chain transformation program successfully. It brings together the field’s latest advances and offers practical, proven tactics and detailed guidance into every aspect of value chain process redesign, including mapping the existing process, intelligently leveraging new technologies, building a strategy for strengthening the relationship with suppliers and customers, identifying comprehensive related metrics, and much more.

Key Features:

• Provides an executive review on how lean & agile value chain (LAVC) principles and enablers can help companies address today’s challenges and gain a competitive advantage
• Gives business professionals a comprehensive framework for reducing costs and lead time, improving flexibility, eliminating non-value added activities, and optimizing the transformation program to becoming lean and agile
• Explains how to build LAVC strategies and enable their leading-edge technologies
• Presents strategies for senior managers to use in planning for transformation programs
• Supplies middle managers the tools to effectively manage and implement best practices
• Includes cases studies, industry success stories, sample project plans, and lessons learned applicable to most any industry

About the Authors

Ehap Sabri, Ph.D, CFPIM, is a business strategist, keynote speaker, and workshop leader sought after for his expertise in strategy development and supply chain management. Dr. Sabri has held a variety of advisory roles and provided consulting services for several Fortune 100 companies. He has worked with Caterpillar, IBM, Cummins, Toshiba, Vanity Fair, and Sprint to develop and implement best-practice strategies and processes to derive value and significant cost reductions. Dr. Sabri’s book, Purchase Order Management Best Practices, is required reading in several MBA programs. He has also authored numerous book chapters and journal publications that give readers fresh insights into today’s business and economic challenges. Ehap has a doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas and the University of Texas–Dallas for the MBA and Ph.D. Programs. Dr. Sabri also serves as the board president for a nonprofit public charter school.

Salim Shaikh, CPIM, CSCP has a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas–Dallas. Salim has had a distinguished academic career and has maintained a constant pursuit of academic excellence by winning several awards and scholarships. He has 12 years of professional experience in management consulting, process improvement, project management, software development, advance planning and scheduling, and e-business solutions across several industries. As a management consultant, Salim has also provided training to several Fortune 500 companies, including Texas Instruments, Daimler Chrysler, Pepsi, Dell, IBM, Toshiba, Dillard’s, Sony Entertainment, and Dole Foods, and has a proven record of success in adding value and achieving cost reductions. Currently, he holds the position of Senior Solution Architect at i2 Technologies in Dallas, Texas, which is viewed as a leader in solving supply chain and e-business problems. Salim has led training sessions and workshops on supply chain management for the faculty of the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University, Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University, Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Smurfit School of Business at University College–Dublin, and the National University of Singapore. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Texas–Dallas and the University of Dallas.