Creating World Class Suppliers.

In recent years Peter Hines has focused a great deal of his energies on increasing understanding of the type of network sourcing approaches which have been developed by the Japanese. He has done so with refreshing objectivity that has allowed him to penetrate the myths with which much of Japanese business activity has become surrounded. Furthermore, working with managers in UK manufacturing businesses, he has taken the key approaches which are adopted in the Japanese environment and helped tailor them to the UK setting. While the outcome of this activity may not have been universally successful, his analytical approach to solving the related problems has ensured that useful lessons have been learned from failure as well as success. This book reflects the practical benefits which have stemmed from this process as well as the emerging theoretical constructs.

The book consists of four parts and a conclusion. Part 1 - the Introduction - opens with a quotation which reflects the philosophy running through the whole book. A Japanese executive is cited as telling the members of a visiting study group: "Manage the supply chain for competitive advantage rather than reduced costs." There follows, in the Introduction, a helpful discussion which develops this theme within the context of the search for "World Class" competitive advantage. In addition, the structure of the book and the focus of its chapters are described.

In Part 2, five chapters are dedicated to exploring the methods and approaches which are used both by Japanese companies and by Western innovators in managing their supplier networks. Among these, Chapters 4, 5, and 6 will be particularly helpful to the reader who is contemplating the adoption of such a approach. Furthermore, they are likely to stimulate the reader to wish to explore the next section of the book which is concerned with learning from these experiences, discussion of which appears in two useful ...