Book Review: Managing Risk and Resilience in the Supply Chain

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This book is a gem. To me. Where Helen Peck in her article Reconciling supply chain vulnerability, risk and supply chain management takes a holistic academic perspective on supply chain risk and business continuity, David Kaye in his book Managing Risk and Resilience in the Supply Chain takes on a holistic business perspective to explain the concept of the extended supply chain. Seldom have I read a book that captured my attention from the beginning to the end. It is not a textbook for the academic, nor is it a handbook for the manager, but it is an easy read.

Hands-on

The book is written with the manager and practitioner in mind. It is clear and concise, to the point, and constantly switching between risk management in general, supply chain risk, and business continuity, always seeing the whole picture, never forgetting that supply chains are essential to a company’s well-being, as is risk management, as is business continuity.

Succinct

Short chapters, with short sub-sections highlighting various issues, interspersed with examples of catastrophes and not-so-catastrophes, anecdotes and quotes makes this a very enjoyable read, and it doesn’t take long for the message to sink in.

The message

Slightly rephrased, what Kaye is trying to convey is that

No truly effective risk management is achievable if it is simply bolted onto management structures, control procedures and cultures; it cannot work when designed only to enable ticks in internal or external auditor’s checkboxes. First when risks are understood and truly dealt with can effective management be achieved (p.75).

To the point

This book shows you how to deal with supply chain risks. It is not a book in self-assessment, it is not a workbook, nor a guideline, but it highlights many if not all issues surrounding supply chains, risks, and business continuity. I for one did not see any ground left uncovered. This book makes you think, and want to act, and I guess that is the whole purpose of the book in the first place.

More information

More information on the book can be found on David Kaye’s website: www.riskreality.org.uk: Managing Risk and Resilience in the Supply Chain, featuring the table of contents and sub-chapter titles, and on the publisher’s website: British Standards Institution: Managing Risk and Resilience in the Supply Chain, where you can even download the introduction and a sample chapter. Last, not least, the November 2008 edition of Risk UK’s magazine (p. 6, see image left) reviewed the book, stating that it was