5 Best Logistics Books to Keep Within Reach

Are you looking for logistics management books? In this article, we will show you 5 books that'll help you learn logistics faster than any other logistics book.

In the United States, the median wage for a Logistics Manager is around $70,000 annually. So, a career in logistics management can be very lucrative if you have a career plan and keep on developing yourself. However, most logistics managers will have to spend some years in various functions to gain cross-functional knowledge.

Logistics Book Ranking Factors


To provide the book recommendations, first, we collect the name of the books that appear on Amazon.com. Then, we use these criteria to rank the books,

- Practicality: we look closely at how each book can provide basic concepts and strategies of the "Integrated Logistics Functions", namely, customer service, purchasing, production planning, warehousing, and transportation in a clear and concise manner.

- Difficulty: we try to shy away from the math-heavy books as much as possible. Because, from our own experience, math like linear programming or optimization doesn't work the way people think they are

- Editorial Decision: we carefully review each book and the final 5 are selected based on the editorial opinion.

We will group the result by type of readers like "beginners", "college students" and "analysts".

#The links below are paid links.

Best Logistics Book for Beginners:




Pros: This book will show you how to plan and execute sourcing strategies like the world's leading companies. You will enjoy it if you like to learn new concepts from case studies. Some chapters include easy action steps to help readers formulate strategies. It also discusses marketing concepts like advertising, media buying, direct marketing, and market research which is unprecedented.

Another unique point of this book is that it presents the "real estate outsourcing" concept which is different from the facility location concept (math model) in other books in logistics and supply chain management. The "glossary" section is quite useful for someone new to logistics management.

Cons: It focuses heavily on sourcing or purchasing which is one function under integrated logistics management. 

Author Credentials: Suman Sarkar is a supply chain consultant with more than 20 years of experience. He has an MBA from UCLA.

What sets it apart: At the time of this writing, this book is the best-selling book among books on this list. It also gets very positive endorsements from supply chain industry experts. 

Our Rating: 5/5




Pros: This book covers 3 aspects of transportation, namely, the foundation of transportation operations, key issues that transportation managers should take into account, and the impact of technological and environmental changes. It is filled with key concepts, strategies, best practices, and end-of-chapter summaries. 

Cons: Transportation is sometimes referred to as "Outbound Logistics". To get a full picture of "integrated logistics management", you need to read it with another book like "The Supply Chain Revolution."

Author Credentials: The main author, Thomas J. Goldsby is an award-winning professor and Chair in Logistics at the Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He also co-authored 5 logistics and supply chain books and supervised many six sigma and lean projects.

What sets it apart: It's written under the direction of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and it is used with SCPro Level 1 certification.

Our Rating: 4.9/5

Best Logistics Book for College Students:


3. World-Class Warehousing and Material Handling, 2nd Edition


Pros: In our opinion, this is the best book on warehouse management. Unlike books that are filled with complicated algorithms, this book is more user-friendly. It clearly explains the concepts and techniques used by modern warehouse operations. 

Cons: It contains some basic math, but not that hard. However, a chapter about warehouse activity profiling is quite challenging.

Author Credentials: Dr. Ed Frazelle was an award-winning professor at Georgia Tech Institute of Technology and he is now a consultant. He also has another book about supply chain strategy.

What sets it apart: This book is probably one of the earliest books about warehouse management and it has been around for more than 2 decades. It has been used by logistics programs around the world.

Our Rating: 5/5



Pros: "On Time, In Full" is the most common performance measurement for customer-facing functions. This book starts with Chapter 1 by explaining to readers how to identify reasons for poor delivery performance issues. Chapter 2 will introduce you to the on-time, in full metric. After that, the author explains how to improve performance by using best practices such as Sales and Operations Planning, Demand Pull, Value Stream Mapping, supplier management, and so on.

Cons: You need to be comfortable with basic math. Prior knowledge of lean manufacturing is required.

Author Credentials: Timothy McLean is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience with various functions of logistics. He has been a managing director of a consulting company for more than 15 years.

What sets it apart: To the best of our knowledge, this book is the only book dedicated to this subject area. 

Our Rating: 4.9/5



Pros: If you need a good reference covering all aspects of logistics management, this book is the one for you. It provides you with tools for various logistics functions, general management, performance measurement, finance, and problem-solving. Many checksheets are quite easy to use. For more complicated tools, the author will tell you when to use them and how to use them. Links to external websites are provided on the spot for quick accessibility. It also comes with online resources where you can download free pdf/doc/excel files for Pareto Analysis, Critical Path, Demand Variation Measurement, and many more.

Cons: You need prior knowledge in logistics management

Author Credentials: Gwynne Richards initially worked with leading transportation companies. Later, he entered supply chain consulting. He is now a consultant and trainer.

What sets it apart: It gets positive reviews from various publications in logistics and endorsements from leading university professors and business executives.

Our Rating: 5/5

Remark: The image above belongs to the 2nd edition of this book.


Reference

- Flöthmann, C., & Hoberg, K. (2017). Career patterns of supply chain executives: an optimal matching analysis. Journal of Business Logistics, 38(1), 35-54.

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All contents are written by Ben Benjabutr unless marked as [Guest Commentary]

About the Author and Editor:
Ben Benjabutr is the author and editor of SupplyChainOpz. He holds an M.Sc. in Logistics Management with 10+ years of experience in supply chain management. You can contact him via e-mail.