I have been managing complex supply chains for the aerospace industry for at least a couple of decades and have installed collaborative supply chain applications at several airlines and OEMs. I find "Essentials of Supply Chain Management" a refreshing, easy, and informative read for the practitioner. Having recently gone through several text books written by academicians I find that even the best of them lacked the touch and the feel of real life supply chain issues. Most hands on managers however need to know the latest technologies and best business practices that might help them solve real life problems. Michael Hugo's book comes close to achieving that goal. The simulation model at [...] works hand in hand with the book. It allows paractioners the opportunity to put to test some of the concepts described in the book. The book and the simulation model can but does not have to be used concurrently to help managers formulate and test assumptions relevant to their own operation. With customer experience at the top of SCM manager's agenda these days, this book shines a light on a road not strictly dedicated to the theory of constraints with a single minded focus on maximizing throughput. More on the simulation model at [...]