Focusing on maximizing profit versus just minimizing costs is something of a trend in supply chain, with that perspective thought to be a more enlightened view of the role of supply chain in company success.

But that approach doesn't really apply in supply chain network design projects, says Dr. Michael Watson of Northwestern University and OpEx analytics, and co-author of the recent books Supply Chain Network Design and Managerial Analytics.

For several reasons, companies should generally stick to cost minimization analysis, Watson says - though profit maximization isn't totally useless.

Watch Watson and SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore discuss all this and more in this very interesting and fast-paced video, excerpted from one of our recent weekly video news broadcasts with CSCMP.