Logistics Clusters: Delivering Value and Driving Growth - Hardcover

Sheffi, Yossi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262018454 ISBN 13: 9780262018456

Publisher: Mit Pr, 2012

Synopsis

Why is Memphis home to hundreds of motor carrier terminals and distribution centers? Why does the tiny island-nation of Singapore handle a fifth of the world's maritime containers and half the world's annual supply of crude oil? Which jobs can replace lost manufacturing jobs in advanced economies?

Some of the answers to these questions are rooted in the phenomenon of logistics clusters--geographically concentrated sets of logistics-related business activities. In this book, supply chain management expert Yossi Sheffi explains why Memphis, Singapore, Chicago, Rotterdam, Los Angeles, and scores of other locations have been successful in developing such clusters while others have not.

Sheffi outlines the characteristic "positive feedback loop" of logistics clusters development and what differentiates them from other industrial clusters; how logistics clusters "add value" by generating other industrial activities; why firms should locate their distribution and value-added activities in logistics clusters; and the proper role of government support, in the form of investment, regulation, and trade policy.

Sheffi also argues for the most important advantage offered by logistics clusters in today's recession-plagued economy: jobs, many of them open to low-skilled workers, that are concentrated locally and not "offshorable." These logistics clusters offer what is rare in today's economy: authentic success stories. For this reason, numerous regional and central governments as well as scores of real estate developers are investing in the development of such clusters.

View a trailer for the book at: http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/22284-logistics-clusters-yossi-sheffi

About this title

About the Author

Yossi Sheffi is Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT and Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. He has held many leadership positions at MIT, including head of the Engineering Systems Division from 2008 to 2011. He founded the Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) network of academic centers in Europe, Latin America and Asia, who together with MIT, educate students and conduct research on global supply chain management issues.

Professor Sheffi worked with leading manufacturers and logistics service providers around the world. In addition, he is a serial entrepreneur, having founded or co-founded five companies since 1987. He was recognized for his professional contributions with many awards by academia, industry and governments around the world.

He is the author of The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage (MIT Press, 2007) and Urban Transportation Networks (Prentice Hall, 1985).

From the Back Cover

As much as anyone I know, Yossi Sheffi has advanced the cause of logistics as an academic discipline. I often call on him for his unique insight on how logistics intersects the worlds of technology, public policy, global trade, and other macro issues. In his book, he gives us an account of the broader impact as opportunities emerge and business models change because of the timing advantages that come from close access to air transport and overnight connections to most any place in the world."
--D. Scott Davis, CEO, United Parcel Service

"Yossi Sheffi succinctly summarizes the major current developments in worldwide logistics in this well-written book."
--Frederick W. Smith, Chairman & CEO, FedEx Corporation

"Logistics has become an essential part of competition and the modern global economy. Logistics clusters, in which sets of logistics activities co-locate and concentrate in particular locations, have emerged across the globe. Such clustering unlocks large positive externalities and economic growth in logistics while stimulating related economic diversification in logistically intensive fields. Yossi Sheffi's book provides a fascinating description of the power of clusters in services and the evolution of logistics clusters globally. This interesting book shows how clusters are getting more important in the global economy, not less, defying predictions of the end of geography."
--Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School

"This book provides valuable insights for business leaders who are building their global and Asian supply chains. We are proud that renowned supply chain management expert Yossi Sheffi has highlighted Singapore as one of the successful logistics clusters alongside cities like Memphis, Chicago, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles. Based on solid research and practical examples, Sheffi's book offers a perceptive understanding of the roles governments, businesses, and academia can play to create an enabling environment for logistics clusters to thrive."
--Leo Yip, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board

"An insightful book, with real-world cases from all over the globe, that show the benefits of logistics clusters. An interesting read for logistics professionals and certainly for us at Port of Rotterdam Authority, who focus on developing a vital port cluster both in Rotterdam and in some selected emerging clusters around the world."
--Hans N. J. Smits, President and CEO, Port of Rotterdam Authority "Yossi Sheffi's recognition of a select group of cities as logistics hubs, each with its own particularities, provides beneficial insight into new developments, business opportunities, and services. His book stresses the dynamics and the different roles these trade hubs take on to serve the world; his detailed portrayal of each of the logistics hubs around the world and how he brings each case up to date is magnificent."
--Alberto Alemán Zubieta, Administrator/CEO, Panama Canal Authority business/management

From the Inside Flap

Yossi Sheffi is the Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT and Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. He has worked with manufacturers and leading service providers around the world on supply chain issues and is an active entrepreneur, having founded and co-founded five successful companies since 1982. He is the author of The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage (MIT Press) and Urban Transportation Networks (Prentice hall).

Edition details

• Publisher: Mit Pr
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262018454
• ISBN 13: 9780262018456
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 356