Distribution Planning and Control

A recognized thought-leader in enterprise resources planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM), David Frederick Ross has spent over 35 years in the field of operations management as a practitioner, consultant and educator. During his 13 years as a practitioner, he held line and staff positions in several manufacturing and distribution companies. Over 22 years of his career was spent in ERP and SCM software project management, application software and education courseware development and consulting and professional development for several technology companies. Currently, he is Senior Manager, Professional Development for APICS headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA (e-mail: david.ross@apics.org).

Dr. Ross has also taught operations and supply chain management in several academic settings. These include Oakton Community College, Easter Illinois University, Elmhurst College and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a long-time instructor in several of APICS's education and certification programs and is a certified APICS instructor. Dr. Ross holds a PhD degree from the University of Chicago and is recognized as a CFPIM and CSCP by APICS.

Besides articles and industry white papers, he has published six books in SCM. Distribution Planning and Control (1996, 2nd ed. 2004), is used by many universities and is a foundation book for APICS's Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) program. Competing Through Supply Chain Management (1998) is one of the very first complete texts on the science of supply chain management. Introduction to e-Supply Chain Management (2003) merged the concepts of e-business and SCM. A second edition of this book, entitled Introduction to Supply Chain Management Technologies, was released in 2010. This book has been adopted by APICS as a primary resource in the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program. The IntimateSupply Chain (2008), explores the interrelationship between SCM, customer relationship management (CRM) and customer experience management (CEM). He also contributed a chapter entitled "Supply Chain Management: Principles and Structures" for the Manufacturing Engineering Handbook (2015).