informs
Vol. 36, No. 3, May–June 2006, pp. 191–193 issn 0092-2102 eissn 1526-551X 06 3603 0191

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doi 10.1287/inte.1060.0214 © 2006 INFORMS

Supply Chain Management: Technology, Globalization, and Policy at a Crossroads
Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03768, m.eric.johnson@dartmouth.edu

M. Eric Johnson

Supply chain management is an important application area for INFORMS, with many opportunities for our community to contribute models and insight. The seemingly relentless forces of globalization and technology continually present us with new supply chain challenges and opportunities for further progress. Over the past decade, researchers and practitioners have developed many models and methods that have influenced supply chain practices. However, as managers and management scientists have embraced these new approaches for improving supply chain competitiveness, these initiatives have slipped into the middle of many important corporate and public debates. Key words: supply chain management; professional: comments on.

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he forces of globalization and technology are changing supply chains. In many cases, the supply chains are literally disintegrating. Product designers, marketers, and manufacturers that were previously housed in a single facility are now spread over several continents in organizations with different cultures, languages, and business objectives. For example, not long ago, apparel firms, such as Levi Strauss and Company, did it all—operating their own US production plants along with their core design and marketing activities. In the past few years, Levi Strauss has shuttered the sewing plants that once dotted the southeastern US and outsourced much of that production and even design (Johnson 2004). The same transition is also true for many other products, from PCs to lawn mowers. Ten years ago,