A supply chain network is difficult to understand, since it touches on so many functions within a company and across different companies.  The objective of this book is clear, and William T. Walker, CFPIM, CIRM, CSCP accomplishes it completely providing the supply chain professional with a comprehensive and entertaining guide of the global supply chain network.  Supply Chain Architecture provides the understanding, direction, and tools to apply the five APICS Principles of Supply Chain Management - Velocity, Variability, Vocalize, Visualize, and Value - to improve a company's supply chain network competitiveness. 

Acquiring any skill requires an understanding of the “big picture” as well as of the practical details, and architecting a supply chain network is no different.  Walker skillfully weaves three storylines through the book that make the overall concepts live and breathe, and at the same time provides a treasure of specific tools including 90 figures, 120 tables, eight performance measures and a network blueprint that help the reader convert the concepts to on-the-ground actions.  Written by a practitioner for the practitioner, the depth of Walker’s knowledge and experience in this field is evident from the powerful practicality of the material he presents.

Supply Chain Architecture is particularly effective because of the very orderly approach Walker takes to the subject and the standard APICS terminology he utilizes throughout the book.  Starting by drawing the overall supply chain map and defining a clear language for relating to a supply chain network, Walker lays out alternative supply chain strategies and the business and operational implications of each.  Walker proceeds to explore the inter-company issues of collaboration and how to effectively build a supply chain network, and then addresses the critical issues in building, operating, and optimizing such a network.  Walker rounds out the blueprint with a view from the financial perspective, showing the cause and effect impact and opportunities that Supply Chain Architecture offers, together with a summarizing chapter and an appendix that literally provides step-by-step instructions for this process.  At every stage, Walker challenges us to move from conventional, silo thinking to a broader-view, highly concise approach that focuses us on the objectives we want to accomplish.

Supply Chain Architecture is a "must have" supplemental resource to prepare for the APICS CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional) exam.  The book is a comprehensive end-to-end survey of the supply chain network in all its aspects and dimensions, and at the same time understandable no matter what the reader’s background.  Its combination of practical, entertaining, and thorough treatment of supply chain networks means you’ll be reaching for this book as a reference long after the test has passed.