Streamlined : 14 Principles for Building & Managing the Lean Supply Chain

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Summary: Gen Mgr, Aerospace MRO
Review: Finally, a book is available that combines different tools for the effective and successful management of the entire supply chain. The 14 Principles are practical, hard-hitting, and have a permanent a place on my desk. With so many books today outlining suggestions for supply chain management, this book pulls it all together and has given me specific instructions that I am now implementing in the logistics and operations management portion of my business. It is easy to read and the clear illustrations and practical case studies lead you through a great learning experience that can be applied immediately. I highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to improve their business operations or as excellent reference material for a student, consultant or anyone wanting to know more about the supply chain.

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Summary: VP Sales
Review: Srini's holistic approach in addressing the supply chain made this an easy read even for someone without major lean manufacturing experience. So many times, business books only address one segment of an audience. His emphasis on synergistic application of lean principles brings home the importance of applying the lean philosophy to all layers of the organization. Too many times professionals outside the manufacturing arena feel that they have no influence on lean applications. He highlights that marketing and sales have an important role play when implementing and managing an efficient lean system. This book offers many examples and principles that can help many organizations develop a strategy for the highly competitive business world.

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Summary: Streamlined, an opus work on the Lean Supply Chain
Review: Streamlined is a very interesting read. There is no sense of tedium whatsoever. To borrow a term from the lean lexicon, Streamlined has a nice "flow"...its readers are not pushed through the text; rather, they experience the benefit of being pulled through the work. Dr. Mandyam Srinivasan (Srini), in his 14 Principles for Building & Managing The Lean Supply Chain, adroitly demonstrates the tremendous power of synergies between Lean Thinking and the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Shortly after Srini presciently asserted that companies would soon need to begin competing on supply chain management, just as they compete on products and services, such advertisements began appearing in the mainstream media. The most recent of which is a well known overnight delivery service touting "...you supply chain managed". Anyone operating in a business today, or considering investing in a business today, will certainly benefit from reading this definitive book.


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Summary: Very thorough read
Review: This book covers the concepts around supply chain optimization in depth. In our company we are using these techniques to improve the lead time in our global manufacturing supply chain.

S Narasimhan, Director of Quality

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Summary: Consultant
Review: This book is a remarkable combination of business practices and appropriate management tools which address optimization of lean supply chain without unwillingly or thoughtlessly destroying the very supply chain you depend on to maintain your business profitability. Srini discusses every aspect of this very delicate operation. As he points out in his rule no: 1, it is not necessary to optimize all supply chains, just those that matter most for your business. This optimization process as pointed out clearly in rule number 2 should pay attention to the ecosystem of supplier's operations, without which any success and business advantage gained will be sure to be short lived. Excellent understanding of lean supply chain process and display of mastery of managing a lean supply chain.

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Summary: A Must Read for Every Discipline in Your Organization
Review: Understanding your supply chain is imperative in today's fast-paced global economy. Companies have spent billions in training and research in hopes of gaining competitive advantage with lean production. Streamlined shows you step-by-step how to turn knowledge into actions that will improve your supply chain while maximizing financial performance. You will gain a better understanding of your real cost drivers and the effects they have on your firm's overall financial performance. This book will take you well beyond the basic concepts of lean production to explore the activities associated with comprehensive supply chain management. It is a must read for every discipline in your organization.

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Summary: Non-profit managers can benefit from Streamlined
Review: What does Lean supply chain management have to do with service delivery in the non-profit sector? On the surface, not very much; however, as non-profit managers seek new ways to extract value from ever-thinning revenue streams and to improve social returns on charitable dollars invested in their organizations, perhaps they should take a closer look at Dr. Srinivasan's Streamlined. Given the complex nature of transactions in service industries compared to manufacturing, the principles discussed in this book - from systems theory and theory of constraint to variation and throughput - should be of increased interest to its managers; especially if they happen to exist in the non-profit sector (where these complexities are amplified). Streamlined has been indispensable to me and my staff in analyzing several persistent problems, including a decline in participation in our programs that has menaced us for more than four quarters. This easy to understand and practical book has helped us understand how we were working against ourselves and how we could improve our processes and increase participation - a quick and easy solution that worked . Speaking form the perspective of a non-profit manager who has nothing to waste, Dr. Srinivasan's book is a must read for any of my colleagues who take seriously their responsibility to squeeze as much value from their benefactors' goodwill as possible.