ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the historical review which the author have seen recording the different types of organizational structures deployed in the logistics/supply chain arena is that of Soo Wook Kim. This chapter focuses on refining the various processes involved to deliver the lowest possible cost-to-serve via the lean supply chain configuration. It talks about Gareth Morgan's work which provides a much richer and more eclectic perspective, using such metaphors as organizations as machines, organizations as organisms, organizations as political systems. His work, although not specifically directed at supply chains, provides useful insights into how we might reconceptualize supply chain structures to do the tasks required of them. In any event, we are left with the impression from Morgan that the way organizations should shape their supply chain structures involves integrating more into the overall business design.
