An original vision for using technology to transform supply chains into value chains in order to revitalize American communities
When the COVID-19 pandemic led to a global economic “shutdown” in March 2020, our supply chains began to fail, and out-of-stocks and delivery delays became the new norm. Contrary to public perception, the pandemic strain did not break the current system of supply chains; it merely exposed weaknesses and fault lines that were decades in the making, and which were already acutely felt in deindustrialized cities and depopulated rural towns throughout the United States.
Reinventing the Supply Chain explores the historical role of supply chains in the global economy, outlines where the system went wrong and what needs to be done to fix it, and demonstrates how a retooled supply chain can lead to the revitalization of American communities. Jack Buffington proposes a transformation of the global supply chain system into a community-based value chain, led by the communities themselves and driven by digital platforms for raising capital and blockchain technology.
Buffington proposes new solutions to problems that have been decades in the making. With clear analysis and profound insight, Buffington provides a clear roadmap to a more durable and efficient system.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. How America Lost Supply Chain Leadership: A Primer
2. Fallouts from Deindustrialization: A Strategy for a Distracted and Divided Nation
3. New Economics: From Supply Chain to Value Chain
4. 21st-Century Reindustrialization: Win the Right Game
5. Virtual Logistics: Enabling Community-Based Supply Chains
6. Peer-to-Peer Retail: The Storeless Store
7. The Platform for Transformation: 2025 and Beyond
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Reviews
"Buffington’s proposed solutions to the problems faced by the deindustrialization of rural and inner-city America are creative and original. Budding manufacturing and information technologies, harnessed through infrastructure and educational improvements may well lead, in time, to the rise of the community-based initiatives he anticipates."—Alan J. Stenger, PhD, professor emeritus of supply chain management, Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University
"With Buffington's proposals of new and effective solutions to supply chain problems that have been decades in the making, Reinventing the Supply Chain: A 21st-Century Covenant with America offers a clear roadmap to a more durable and efficient system. Critically essential reading, Reinventing the Supply Chain is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, corporate, and academic library Globalization and Business Management collections."—Midwest Book Review
About the Author
Jack Buffington is the director of supply chain and sustainability at First Key Consulting and professor and academic director of the supply chain management program at the University of Denver. He is the author of several previously published books, including The Recycling Myth and Peak Plastic.
