The expanding geographical sweep of supply chains reflects important advances in the area of logistics management. Some of these advances are linked to progress in computing, telecommunications and robotics technologies as well as to the accumulation of management expertise. Managers have integrated new technologies into their production and distribution processes and have explored new ways of running their core businesses and of managing relations with business partners. As a result, the organisation of companies has evolved -- strategic alliances and closer relations with suppliers and contractors have tended to blur the boundaries of the enterprise. This restructuring has been accompanied by new ways of looking at and organising the roles and responsibilities of various actors in supply chains -- sourcing and supplying firms, business service providers and policy makers.

The greater sophistication in the management of supply chains is part of the long-standing process in which...