About the Presentation

Traditionally, supply chain and sales have been managed relatively independently, despite the critical impact that each has on the other. Systems thinking provides the key to linking these two critical business functions.

Inventory productivity, the return on invested capital in your inventory, is the single systems measure that links these two cornerstone functions. This webinar will: 1) explain the central importance of this critical metric; 2) describe how to measure inventory productivity in a practical way; 3) outline the levers that both sales and supply chain managers can use to radically improve inventory productivity; and 4) describe how leading companies have created core processes for sales and supply chain managers to work together to achieve stunning results.

About the Speaker:

Jonathan L.S. Byrnes, senior lecturer at MIT, is an acknowledged authority on supply chain management, account management, and profitability management. His extensive experience spans virtually every industry, including healthcare, transportation, software, retail, financial services, distribution, and others.

At MIT, Dr. Byrnes has taught at the graduate level and in executive programs for 20 years. He has authored over 100 books, articles, cases, notes, and expert submissions. In addition, he wrote a monthly column on managing profitability for Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge for four years, and recently authored Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink, which Inc.com named to its list of Best Business Books of 2010.

He also is president of Jonathan Byrnes & Co., a consulting company founded in 1976. In that role he has advised over 50 major companies, medical institutions, and industry associations. Dr. Byrnes serves on the board of directors of MSC Industrial Direct, Inc. (a New York Stock Exchange company) and has served on the advisory boards of Objectiva Software and Autopart International. He currently serves on the advisory boards of RMG Networks, OCO, and WaveMark, all development-stage companies. Dr. Byrnes earned a DBA from Harvard University in 1980.

About the Series

The MIT System Design and Management Program Systems Thinking Webinar Series features research conducted by SDM faculty, alumni, students, and industry partners. The series is designed to disseminate information on how to employ systems thinking to address engineering, management, and socio-political components of complex challenges.