Fans pick 100 books like Procurement and Supply Chain Management

By Arjan van Weele, Frank Rozemeijer,

Here are 100 books that Procurement and Supply Chain Management fans have personally recommended if you like Procurement and Supply Chain Management. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Thinking in Systems

Thalia Verkade Author Of Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives

From my list on letting you perceive the world differently.

Why am I passionate about this?

Writing my first book, I found out how dependent my thinking about the world beyond my doorstep was on language made up by engineers (“Please don’t block the driveway”). Engineering language defined how I saw the street. It was a shock to realize how severely this had limited my thinking about public space but also a liberation to become aware of this: now I could perceive streets in completely new and different ways. The books I recommend all have made me perceive the world differently. I hope they do the same for you. Also, see the recommendations by my co-author, Marco te Brömmelstroet.

Thalia's book list on letting you perceive the world differently

Thalia Verkade Why did Thalia love this book?

This book helped me stop thinking about singular problems and solutions and taught me to think in terms of relationships. 

I read it at a time when I believed the electric car to be a solution to oil dependence and the greenhouse effect. Electric cars do not directly produce CO2 and are more energy efficient. What I missed was the fact that cars are much more than oil-burning CO2-emitters. They limit our street life and kill more than a million people in traffic each year.

By solving one problem without looking at the big picture, we enlarge other problems and create new ones. Will cobalt wars follow after the oil wars? Reading this book felt like walking around with a flashlight in my head and then a construction lamp switching on.

By Donella Meadows,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Thinking in Systems as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic book on systems thinking, with more than half a million copies sold worldwide!

This is a fabulous book. This book opened my mind and reshaped the way I think about investing. Forbes

Perfect for fans of Kate Raworth, Rutger Bregman and Daniel Kahneman!

The co-author of the international best-selling book Limits to Growth, Donella Meadows is widely regarded as a pioneer in the environmental movement and one of the world's foremost systems analysts . Her posthumously published Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to…


Book cover of The Procurement Value Proposition: The Rise of Supply Management

Kate Vitasek Author Of Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

From my list on strategic sourcing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an international authority for my award-winning research on the Vested® business model for highly collaborative relationships. I began my research in 2003 by studying what makes the difference in successful strategic business deals. My day job is the lead faculty and researcher for the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program; my passion is helping organizations and individuals learn the art, science, and practice of crafting highly collaborative win-win strategic business relationships. My work has led to seven books and three Harvard Business Review articles and I’ve shared my advice on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, and Fox Business News.

Kate's book list on strategic sourcing

Kate Vitasek Why did Kate love this book?

The authors view procurement transformation as a continual transformation evolving to meet dynamic economic, political, and supply chain requirements. I fully support Chick and Handfield’s premise that raw power will be replaced with collaboration. “Collaboration is the new way,” they assert, adding. “The old adversarial posture of procurement is as outmoded as it is inappropriate.” Chick and Handfield call for a clear break between older or past-generation procurement practices and those of today. In short, they argue that everything done and learned in the past will not be useful in the dawn of procurement’s new value proposition, where the goal for all parties is value, not just lowest cost pricing.

By Gerard Chick, Robert Handfield,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Procurement Value Proposition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER: ACA-Bruel 2015 - Grand Prix Businesses are going through rapid change due to an increased focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility, technological advances, geo-political and macro-economic change, and demographic shifts. If purchasing and supply chain managers are to embrace these challenges they must develop new ways of thinking about supply structures and processes as well as new skills and competencies. The Procurement Value Proposition examines these important changes that will have a profound effect on the way future procurement is carried out. It considers the implications of global economic transformation for procurement set against: changes in business contexts, purchasing…


Book cover of Procurement at a Crossroads: Career-Impacting Insights into a Rapidly Changing Industry

Kate Vitasek Author Of Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

From my list on strategic sourcing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an international authority for my award-winning research on the Vested® business model for highly collaborative relationships. I began my research in 2003 by studying what makes the difference in successful strategic business deals. My day job is the lead faculty and researcher for the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program; my passion is helping organizations and individuals learn the art, science, and practice of crafting highly collaborative win-win strategic business relationships. My work has led to seven books and three Harvard Business Review articles and I’ve shared my advice on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, and Fox Business News.

Kate's book list on strategic sourcing

Kate Vitasek Why did Kate love this book?

This book hits the nail on the head with an accurate assessment of the frustration buyers and suppliers have as they go through a virtual tug of war on procurement: procurement practitioners are pressured to become more strategic and innovative, and at the same time are pressured to save on costs. Organizations want solutions to close the gaps when they lack core competencies. Yet suppliers argue that investing in unique customer requirements or innovations is risky because buyers will simply take their ideas and competitively bid on the work. Hence the industry is at a crossroads, with buyers and suppliers wanting innovation but neither willing to invest due to the conventional transaction-based commercial structure of how buyers and suppliers work and procure together.  

By Jon Hansen, Kelly Barner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Procurement at a Crossroads as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Foreword by David Clevenger, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Development at Corporate United, and six-time honoree of the Inc. 5000.The procurement profession is at a major crossroads. Practitioners are responding to pressure from executive leadership to become more strategic, in some cases eliminating tactical work through outsourcing or automation. At the same time, performance metrics emphasize the need to continue negotiating savings and managing supplier performance. Procurement at a Crossroads: Career-Impacting Insights into a Rapidly Changing Industry aids practitioners in developing a vision for their medium- and long-term career goals, and shows them how to balance the need…


Book cover of Value First, Then Price: Building Value-Based Pricing Strategies

Kate Vitasek Author Of Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement

From my list on strategic sourcing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an international authority for my award-winning research on the Vested® business model for highly collaborative relationships. I began my research in 2003 by studying what makes the difference in successful strategic business deals. My day job is the lead faculty and researcher for the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program; my passion is helping organizations and individuals learn the art, science, and practice of crafting highly collaborative win-win strategic business relationships. My work has led to seven books and three Harvard Business Review articles and I’ve shared my advice on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, and Fox Business News.

Kate's book list on strategic sourcing

Kate Vitasek Why did Kate love this book?

I love how this book challenges strategic sourcing leaders to think of procurement as an enabler to create value for their organizations. This book notes one of the big lessons in modern procurement is that cost does not equal value. The book does a good job of articulating how a price-focused mindset limits the ability of suppliers to create value beyond standardized offerings. The editors have also recruited some of the world’s best thought leaders who share their insights in various chapters on how to make the shift from price to value, including providing wonderful examples of how to put value-based thinking into practice. 

By Andreas Hinterhuber (editor), Todd C. Snelgrove (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Value First, Then Price as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Value-based pricing - pricing a product or service according to its value to the customer rather than its cost - is the most effective and profitable pricing strategy. Value First, Then Price is an innovative collection that proposes a quantitative methodology to value pricing and road-tests this methodology through a wide variety of real-life industrial and B2B cases.

This book offers a state-of-the art and best practice overview of how leading companies quantify and document value to customers. In doing so, it provides students and researchers with a method by which to draw invaluable data-driven conclusions, and gives sales and…


Book cover of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America

Andrea Freeman Author Of Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch

From my list on food that won’t make you hungry.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to eat and want to understand why we make the food choices we do—when we are lucky enough to have choices. I have an insatiable appetite for books that examine the underbelly of food traditions and policies. I have been studying the relationship between food and racism for over fifteen years, and I am still not even close to full.

Andrea's book list on food that won’t make you hungry

Andrea Freeman Why did Andrea love this book?

Marcia Chatelain documents the surprising but significant role that McDonald’s played in the civil rights movement. As community hubs, its outlets were sites of protests and bombings. Later, Black franchise owners sued the company for race discrimination. The Golden Arches symbolize the hope and exploitation of Black capitalism. This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is a smorgasbord of stunning detail, and I’m lovin’ it. 

By Marcia Chatelain,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Franchise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Just as The Color of Law provided a vital understanding of redlining and racial segregation, Marcia Chatelain's Franchise investigates the complex interrelationship between black communities and America's largest, most popular fast food chain. Taking us from the first McDonald's drive-in in San Bernardino to the franchise on Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri, in the summer of 2014, Chatelain shows how fast food is a source of both power-economic and political-and despair for African Americans. As she contends, fast food is, more than ever before, a key battlefield in the fight for racial justice.


Book cover of Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth: Your Guide to Analyzing, Buying, and Managing Vacation Properties

Daniel Rusteen Author Of Profitable Properties: Airbnb Insider Secrets to Find, Optimize, Price, & Book Direct any Short-Term Rental Investment for Year-Round Occupancy

From my list on managing short-term rentals by a former Airbnb employee.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hi! I’m Danny Rusteen, and I live and breathe STRs. I’ve been hosting, co-hosting, and managing property since 2013. In 2017, I started living full-time in Airbnbs, that’s more than just a fun fact, it gives me a unique perspective that no other expert has. Maybe it’s why my calendar is full all year round. I see Airbnb as a tool for peace. I'm going to get philosophical for a moment. Airbnb creates connections that never otherwise would have existed. Instead of letting the TV tell you what country X thinks of country Y, it's better to find out from real people: hosts and the locals you interact with.

Daniel's book list on managing short-term rentals by a former Airbnb employee

Daniel Rusteen Why did Daniel love this book?

I finished it in just a few days as it’s a light read and only about 150-pages long. It is a great book to briefly introduce readers at a high level to locating markets, finding real estate agents, managing the listing remotely, and getting set up on Airbnb by creating a listing.

By Avery Carl,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From analyzing potential properties to effectively managing your listings, this book is your one-stop resource for making a profit with short-term rentals!

Airbnb, Vrbo, and other listing services have become massively popular in recent years―why not tap into the gold mine? Whether you’re new to real estate investing or you want to add a new strategy to your growing portfolio, vacation rentals can be an extremely lucrative way to add an extra income stream―but only if you acquire and manage your properties correctly.

Traditional rental properties are a great way to create wealth, but short-term rentals can bring in five…


Book cover of Baby Bargains: Your Baby Registry Cheat Sheet

Laura Wattenberg Author Of The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby

From my list on for expectant parents with curious minds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Baby names are my profession and my obsession. Back when I was naming my own children, I found that the standard dictionaries didn’t capture what makes names so individual and so meaningful. So I set out to write the name book I had wanted to read: a real-world guide rooted in style, trends, culture, and history. I also focused on the decision-making process itself, which is a growing challenge in our era of information overload. An effective guide helps cut through the chaos, freeing you to enjoy the excitement of the journey ahead.

Laura's book list on for expectant parents with curious minds

Laura Wattenberg Why did Laura love this book?

You are about to enter another dimension: a dimension not only of love and responsibility but of consumer goods. You have a lot of shopping decisions ahead of you, many in categories that will be completely unfamiliar to you. Before getting lost in the aisles of a superstore or allowing the hundreds of stroller models on Amazon to plunge you into despair, start with this book. It will walk you through the major types of baby gear and help you understand what factors do and don’t matter.

By Denise Fields, Alan Fields,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Baby Bargains as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

America's best-selling and best-loved guide to baby gear is back with an updated and revised edition!

Yes, a baby book that actually answers the big question about having a baby: How am I going to afford all this?

With the average cost of a baby topping $7400 for just the first year alone, new parents need creative solutions and innovative ideas to navigate the consumer maze that confronts all parents-to-be. Baby Bargains is the answer!

Inside, you’ll discover:

• BEST BET PICKS for cribs, car seats, strollers, high chairs, diapers and more!

• CHEAT SHEETS for your baby registry―create a…


Book cover of The Berenstain Bears and the Summer Job

Megan Preston Meyer Author Of Supply Jane & Fifo Fix the Flow: A Supply Chain and Logistics Adventure for Kids

From my list on Kids’ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works.

Why am I passionate about this?

I spent 10+ years in supply chain and analytics, but now I tell the stories that data doesn’t. I love exposing the hidden logic that makes the world work. Correction: I love discovering the hidden logic that makes the world work, and what I figure out, I love to share. Whether it’s getting kids interested in supply chain (e.g., how the things in the Amazon package actually get to their mailbox) or shedding light on corporate absurdity in funny novels (e.g., Firebrand), I figure that the more we can pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, the more we can understandand appreciatethe world around us.

Megan's book list on Kids’ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works

Megan Preston Meyer Why did Megan love this book?

The Berenstain Bears are nostalgic silver (they get 2nd place because there aren’t as many memes). I especially like ...and the Summer Job because the lessons are so timeless: cause and effect can sometimes be muddy; one must be patient and able to deal with uncertainty; and the joy of a job well done can be a reward in itself.

Even if your kids are too young to be thinking about summer jobs yet (although check those child-labor laws, because they vary by state…), it’s never too early to plant the seeds of a solid work ethic.

Book cover of The Little Yellow Digger and the Big Ship

Megan Preston Meyer Author Of Supply Jane & Fifo Fix the Flow: A Supply Chain and Logistics Adventure for Kids

From my list on Kids’ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works.

Why am I passionate about this?

I spent 10+ years in supply chain and analytics, but now I tell the stories that data doesn’t. I love exposing the hidden logic that makes the world work. Correction: I love discovering the hidden logic that makes the world work, and what I figure out, I love to share. Whether it’s getting kids interested in supply chain (e.g., how the things in the Amazon package actually get to their mailbox) or shedding light on corporate absurdity in funny novels (e.g., Firebrand), I figure that the more we can pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, the more we can understandand appreciatethe world around us.

Megan's book list on Kids’ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works

Megan Preston Meyer Why did Megan love this book?

Besides being a really cute book in its own right (any time there are cat cameos in the illustrations, I’m excited), I just really like the fact that this book exists.

Peter Gilderdale already had a whole series on the Little Yellow Digger, so when the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal a few years ago, he, like the eponymous digger, was perfectly positioned. And he nailed it!

This book leaves kids with some great messages: when you find yourself in the right place at the right time, don’t hesitate; and even if you’re small, you can still make a big difference.

By Peter Gilderdale, Fifi Colston (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Little Yellow Digger and the Big Ship as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

While the people puzzled how to shift a boat this BIG, a little yellow digger came and just began to dig. Inspired by the TRUE STORY of a giant container ship wedged in a tight spot and blocking one of the busiest waterways in the world, this playful addition to the classic series sees the world's favourite LITTLE YELLOW DIGGER come to the rescue-again!


Book cover of Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?

Megan Preston Meyer Author Of Supply Jane & Fifo Fix the Flow: A Supply Chain and Logistics Adventure for Kids

From my list on Kids’ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works.

Why am I passionate about this?

I spent 10+ years in supply chain and analytics, but now I tell the stories that data doesn’t. I love exposing the hidden logic that makes the world work. Correction: I love discovering the hidden logic that makes the world work, and what I figure out, I love to share. Whether it’s getting kids interested in supply chain (e.g., how the things in the Amazon package actually get to their mailbox) or shedding light on corporate absurdity in funny novels (e.g., Firebrand), I figure that the more we can pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, the more we can understandand appreciatethe world around us.

Megan's book list on Kids’ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works

Megan Preston Meyer Why did Megan love this book?

Richard Scarry books are nostalgic gold. There’s so much going on on every page, and I remember it all like it was yesterday (which it probably was, because half of the illustrations are on Twitter as memes).

The little vignettes cover all the traditional kids’ book themes—firemen, policemen, ship voyages, road construction—but then go further. Everyone is a Worker talks about how money flows through the economy, and Wood & How We Use It discusses a supply chain, from raw materials to production and manufacturing to transportation (albeit in grossly unrealistic trucks). 

By Richard Scarry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.


Book cover of Thinking in Systems
Book cover of The Procurement Value Proposition: The Rise of Supply Management
Book cover of Procurement at a Crossroads: Career-Impacting Insights into a Rapidly Changing Industry

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