In the 2017 movie version of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express [1], Kenneth Branagh plays the erudite detective Hercule Periot. Periot uses his keen intellect, a deep understanding of human nature and motivation, along with tools such as a macroscope and the stereotypical magnifying glass to appraise the situation and identify the (spoiler alert) criminals involved. Prokop, the author of this book, is the Hercule Periot of logistics.

Prokop is a professor of logistics and director of the master of science program in global supply chain management (MSGSCM) in the Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) [2]. Disclaimer: I am a graduate of this program. In his lectures about supply chain management and the growing threats of terrorism and crime, Prokop would typically conclude with, “security trumps trade,” which usually ended the discussion. Now he has more to say.

This is one of the first books focused on supply chain security, an emerging specialty within supply chain management (SCM). It consists of nine chapters and an appendix. The fundamental concept of this book, introduced in chapter 1, is that government is both partner and police in global supply chain management due to the increasing need for security. New model: supply chain with government included. Chapter 2 outlines the essentials of supply chain security. Chapter 7 discusses trade efficiency and security. They are key chapters to read. The appendix contains useful concepts and analytic tools. International commercial terms (incoterms), the US Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), transportation carriers, efficiency versus effectiveness, and free trade and non-tariff trade barriers are described concisely and economically. I would have liked to have seen Prokop include a section or chapter on the requisite supply chain leadership skills, such as INSEAD’s Ibarra’s outsight principle [3], to accelerate the needed innovation and change at the individual, organizational, supply chain, and global levels.

This book fills a gap in the SCM literature. It will be of value to supply chain leaders trying to make sense of the detailed and dynamic complexities of securing global supply chains, as well as security professionals wanting to understand the elements of supply chain management. It is also suitable as an undergraduate textbook, as well as a graduate one when complemented with further exploration of the resources in the extensive chapter bibliographies.

Hurry and get this book. The “bad guys” don’t need to read it.

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