(Ebook) Supply Chain Risk Management: Minimizing Disruptions in Global Sourcing (Resource Management) by Robert Handfield, Kevin P. McCormack ISBN 9780849366420, 9780849382154, 9780849385155, 9781420051940, 9781574443240, 9781574443585, 0849366429, 0849382157, 0849385156

(Ebook) Supply Chain Risk Management: Minimizing Disruptions in Global Sourcing (Resource Management) by Robert Handfield, Kevin P. McCormack ISBN 9780849366420, 9780849382154, 9780849385155, 9781420051940, 9781574443240, 9781574443585, 0849366429, 0849382157, 0849385156

This book is not what I thought it would be. Looking at the cover I expected a richly and colorfully illustrated handbook. It is not. First of all, this book looks exclusively on the supply (hence "sourcing") side of the supply chain. Secondly, the colorful graphics are mere black and white or gray shade images, very hard to read, some are hardly legible. I don't mind gray shade figures and illustrations, if they are designed that way; here, obviously, color print was too expensive, so they opted for black and white instead, big mistake. Thirdly, the typographical layout is terrible; headings and sub-headings are so similar they are hard to separate and what's worse, they are not numbered. All in all, this looks more like at set of papers written in MS Word, put together in a book. Hmm...well, but what about the content? Visible and in plain sight flaws aside, this book is a good read. The authors demonstrate a solid hands-on practical knowledge of their field. It does not dwell on theory but relies on in-depth analysis and case studies. Unfortunately, most of the chapters lack a bibliography list. Thus, the text itself is free of any references, and academically, to me as a researcher this book is interesting, but not so valuable. In research, reference is king. Oh, as I found out, the "Risk Wheel" that so prominently features on the front cover, was developed by "...Supply Chain Redesign LLC, a consulting firm that focuses an supply chain management, and has created a framework and process to better understand the drivers that create supply chain disruptions and mitigate the risk more proactively..." (p. 76) Having a look at the web site of Supply Chain Redesign LLC I then discovered that it is in fact run by Handfield himself. So, the book is probably written using case studies from his consultancy practice? Hm...very clever marketing... Slightly flawed, bur nonetheless, Supply Chain Risk Management is an excellent book!