Supply chain management publications may range from explaining the basics of supply chain management to focusing on case studies of good and poor examples of SCM.

Supply chain management is the management of the production process. Consider these parts of the supply chain management process, and you'll be more easily able to find SCM articles. In fact, for each of these steps of supply chain management, you can find a supply chain management journal uniquely devoted to it online. Here are the five steps of supply chain management:

1. Plan your supply chain strategy. This requires that you have systems in place to monitor your materials. Read supply chain publications for ideas.

2. Choose a source of raw materials for manufacturing and set up a strategy to maintain a good relationship with your source.

3. Manufacture your product, making sure you have ways to measure and monitor quality, output, and productivity.

4. Deliver the product to your customer. Some call this step "logistics."

5. Have a way to manage the return of defective products. This step may also fall under the title of "logistics".

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get supply chain articles about how to plan your supply chain

Several online supply chain management publications focus solely on strategies for planning the supply chain process.

I recommend: Supply Chain Management Review and Supply & Demand Chain Executive are two supply chain magazines that include the whole gamut of topics from SCM articles about planning software to executive education. You can also find some good supply chain articles by searching the newsletters of the Supply-Chain Council, an organization of supply chain managers.

Find supply chain magazines about getting materials and manufacturing

With everything moving toward globalization, materials and manufacturing receive a good amount of coverage from each online supply chain management magazine. However, there are several supply chain publications devoted to these issues.

I recommend: Read some background articles on supply chain management and the extended supply chain and the trend of globalization before you delve deeper into the topic. An article on CIO.com has good beginner-level information. The supply chain management magazine Purchasing always has informative articles. Material Handling Management focuses on how to manage the raw materials you purchase.

Find logistics supply chain publications

Without a doubt, you can find more supply chain magazines devoted to logistics than any other supply chain topic. Although logistics generally covers the process of delivery and returns, some supply chain magazines on logistics include articles on manufacturing as well.

I recommend: Logistics Management is the largest online source of SCM articles specifically devoted to logistics. You can also find good articles on supply chain management logistics through the Journal of Business Logistics.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Supply chain management publications cover specific pieces of the supply chain management process. Target your searches to the right supply chain publication.
• •  Look over supply chain magazines online before committing to a subscription. Although most supply chain magazines have good content, you do not want to subscribe to content you find too specific for your purposes.