The Deadly Life of Logistics


Book Description

In a world in which global trade is at risk, where warehouses and airports, shipping lanes and seaports try to guard against the likes of Al Qaeda and Somali pirates, and natural disaster can disrupt the flow of goods, even our “stuff” has a political life. The high stakes of logistics are not surprising, Deborah Cowen reveals, if we understand its genesis in war. In The Deadly Life of Logistics, Cowen traces the art and science of logistics over the last sixty years, from the battlefield to the boardroom and back again. Focusing on choke points such as national borders, zones of piracy, blockades, and cities, she tracks contemporary efforts to keep goods circulating and brings to light the collective violence these efforts produce. She investigates how the old military art of logistics played a critical role in the making of the global economic order—not simply the globalization of production, but the invention of the supply chain and the reorganization of national economies into transnational systems. While reshaping the world of production and distribution, logistics is also actively reconfiguring global maps of security and citizenship, a phenomenon Cowen charts through the rise of supply chain security, with its challenge to long-standing notions of state sovereignty and border management. Though the object of corporate and governmental logistical efforts is commodity supply, The Deadly Life of Logistics demonstrates that they are deeply political—and, considered in the context of the long history of logistics, deeply indebted to the practice of war.




Transforming US Army Supply Chains


Book Description

This text offers a practical approach for understanding the US Army's extremely complex global logistics system, widely acknowledged as one of the largest in the world. The focus is on inventory management policy where prescriptions are illuminated through the prism of an enterprise supply chain analysis. Although Army aviation logistics examples are emphasized throughout, the fundamental issues and potential solutions are broadly applicable to other large-scale military and industrial supply chains as well. Following a summary of recent trends for background and context, a multi-stage conceptual model of the logistics structure is presented to segment and guide the effort. This multi-stage model is used to systematically analyze major organizational components of the supply chain, diagnose structural disorders and prescribe solutions. Integration challenges are addressed using cost-benefit perspectives which incorporate supply chain objectives of efficiency, resilience, and effectiveness. The design and evaluation section proposes an "analytical architecture" consisting of four complementary modeling approaches, collectively referred to as "dynamic strategic logistics planning", to enable a coordinated, enterprise approach for Army Logistics Transformation. An organizational construct is presented for an "engine for innovation" to accelerate and sustain continual improvement for Army logistics and supply chain management - a "Center for Innovation in Logistics Systems". Finally, strategic management challenges associated with enterprise integration and transformational change are addressed: organizational design; management information and decision support systems; strategic alignment for a learning organization; and workforce considerations including human capital investment needs. The text concludes with a relevant historical vignette and closes with a summary of expected benefits.




Disruptive and Game Changing Technologies in Modern Warfare


Book Description

This book explores and analyzes emerging innovations within today’s most cutting-edge science and technology (S&T) areas, which are cited as carrying the potential to revolutionize governmental structures, economies, and international security. Some have argued that such technologies will yield doomsday scenarios and that military applications of such technologies have even greater potential than nuclear weapons to radically change the balance of power. As the United States looks to the future – whether dominated by extremist groups co-opting advanced weapons in the world of globalized non-state actors or states engaged in persistent regional conflicts in areas of strategic interest – new adversaries and new science and technology will emerge. Choices made today that affect science and technology will impact how ably the US can and will respond. Chapters within the book look at the changing strategic environment in which security operations are planned and conducted; how these impact science and technology policy choices made today; and predictions of how science and technology may play a beneficial or deleterious role in the future. Some game changing technologies have received global attention, while others may be less well known; the new technologies discussed within this proposal, as well as future discoveries, may significantly alter military capabilities and may generate new threats against military and civilian sectors.







Logistics Transformation


Book Description

The Army has been pursuing a process of transformational change for over a decade. It is readily apparent that the amount of actual transformation in the Army as a whole has been extremely limited in size and scope. The promise of radical and revolutionary change has yet to take effect across the force. This reality is nowhere more evident than it is in logistics. Logistics transformation has simply not happened to the degree necessitated by today's strategic, operationsl, and tactical environment. It follows that, if logistics transformation has not occurred or is stalled, the rest of the force will not be able to transform successfully. This paper will address the following: 1. Why there must be a logistics transformation. 2. Why transformation has not yet been realized for logistics concepts, doctrine, processes, systems, organizational structures, and architecture; what has gone wrong, and how to prevent it from occurring again. 3. What must be changed to achieve a successful transformation of logistics, the priority of change, and who must change it. 4. What to do logistically to become a campaign quality Army with a joint and expeditionary mindset. 5. How to reenergize logistics transformation to get results and benefits now.




Logistics Transformation - Restarting a Stalled Process


Book Description

The Army has been pursuing a process of transformational change for over a decade. It is readily apparent that the amount of actual transformation in the Army as a whole has been extremely limited in size and scope. The promise of radical and revolutionary change has yet to take effect across the force. This reality is nowhere more evident than it is in logistics. Logistics transformation has simply not happened to the degree necessitated by today's strategic operational and tactical environment. It follows that if logistics transformation has not occurred or is stalled the rest of the force will not be able to successfully transform. This paper will address the following: Why there must be a logistics transformation. Why transformation has not yet been realized for logistics concepts doctrine processes systems organizational structures and architecture; what has gone wrong and how to prevent it from occurring again. What must be changed to achieve a successful transformation of logistics the priority of change and who must change it. What to do logistically to become a campaign quality Army with a joint and expeditionary mindset. How to reenergize logistics transformation to get results and benefits now.




Stall Points


Book Description

In this probing study of the growth experience of Fortune 100-sized firms across the past fifty years, authors Olson and van Bever find that great companies stop growing not because of market saturation, government regulation, or other external constraints but rather because of a finite set of common strategy mistakes that appear time after time, across industries, across geography, and across the economic cycle."--Jacket.




Digital Supply Networks: Transform Your Supply Chain and Gain Competitive Advantage with Disruptive Technology and Reimagined Processes


Book Description

Deliver unprecedented customer value and seize your competitive edge with a transformative digital supply network Digital tech has disrupted life and business as we know it, and supply chain management is no exception. But how exactly does digital transformation affect your business? What are the breakthrough technologies and their capabilities you need to know about? How will digital transformation impact skills requirements and work in general? Do you need to completely revamp your understanding of supply chain management? And most importantly: How do you get started? Digital Supply Networks provides clear answers to these and many other questions. Written by an experienced team comprised of Deloitte consultants and leading problem-driven scholars from a premier research university, this expert guide leads you through the process of improving operations building supply networks, increasing revenue, reimagining business models, and providing added value to customers, stakeholders, and society. You’ll learn everything you need to know about: Stages of development, roles, capabilities, and the benefits of DSN Big data analytics including its attributes, security, and authority Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, robotics, and the Internet of Things Synchronized planning, intelligent supply, and digital product development Vision, attributes, technology, and benefits of smart manufacturing, dynamic logistics, and fulfillment A playbook to guide the digital transformation journey Drawing from real world-experience and problem-driven academic research, the authors provide an in-depth account of the transformation to digitally connected supply networks. They discuss the limitations of traditional supply chains and the underlying capabilities and potential of digitally-enabled supply flows. The chapters burst with expert insights and real-life use cases grounded in tomorrow’s industry needs. Success in today’s hyper-competitive, fast-paced business landscape, characterized by the risk of black swan events, such as the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic, requires the reimagination and the digitalization of complex demand-supply systems, more collaborative and connected processes, and smarter, more dynamic data-driven decision making―which can only be achieved through a fully integrated Digital Supply Network.