From Mind to Market : Reinventing the Retail Supply Chain
Author: Roger D. Blackwell
List Price: $26.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0887308333
Publisher: HarperBusiness (12 November, 1997)
Sales Rank: 17,619
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 2 out of 5
Nothing earthshattering. Could've been said in one chapter.
Somewhat disappointing read in that there really wasn't any synopsis at the end of the book to bring all of the cases in point and related ideas together to make a coherent "call to action." While the information presented is interesting, educational, and valuable, the concept of "demand chain management" is not all that radical. The fact the more companies do not engage in the practice is what's really radical! There is no excuse for not conducting rigorous market research and analysis and gaining an intimate understanding of the customer base being served (or disserved in some cases). Mr. Blackwell's information could have been summed up in a 15 page article in a respectable journal. There was no need to produce an entire book on this.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Listen to your customer! Is this the "radical" new approach?
There is nothing radical, or ground-breaking in this book. Contrary to what the cover or any of the previous comments may imply.. The basic (and almost the only) point is that "one should always listen to the customer," which is nice but not new or radical. No matter how hard you look, you will not be able to find any more "ideas" on retail marketing beyond this basic point.Chapter 6 (Shifting Functions among Supply-Chain Players) has a very timely topic, however the content is extremely poor. Short of examples, Professor takes on the universities as inefficient supply-chain members.
Apart from being disappointed by the conceptual content of the book, I also feel fooled by the "real world" examples generously sprinkled throughout the text. In none of these examples, there is enough relevant knowledge to be able to say (at least roughly) this is how they did it. In fact, most of the descriptions of real-world practices are full with irrelevant knowledge with only one discernable purpose: To advertise a bunch of companies under the disguise of a serious book. That maybe why there are so many of those success (!) stories.
So, this book itself is an example of setting up too high and inaccurate expectations on the mind of consumers, and failing badly to abide by the implicit contract created by those expectations. It is a huge marketing mistake!
Finally, I must also mention that my faith in Customer Reviews has weakened tremendously. I simply cannot believe this repetitive dribble got all 5's!
(PS. Don't be fooled by its curious, nicely designed cover. It reflects a pathetic "brave new world" vision of marketing: People barcoded for collecting consumption information.)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Brilliant Insights to Parties within Demand Chain
This book shows a lot of cases quoted from customer-centric winning retailers. These are very realistic and helpful information to the parties related to supply chain. The expression by "Do the right things right" means the desired and normal management style. However a lot of companies are difficult to do so. "From Mind to Market " leader challenges to do so. This is a major key success factor. Finally, the case of Manco moved me too much. Because their customer services are not to be assumed cost center, but to be invested proactively. This is extremely excellent concept. Most of the companies don't think it right. Similar Products
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Book Index