Contracting, logistics, and reverse logistics are intertwined with the project management, program management, and portfolio management disciplines. In recent years, organizations have started to offer certifications into the strategic areas of program and portfolios. Contracting, logistics, and reverse logistics are strategic opportunities for companies. For this reason, three programs benefit from an overlapping text that demonstrates how project, program, and portfolio management (PPPM) drives better strategy. Ultimately, successful strategy leads to increased value and the difficult topics of ethics, culture, relationships, and a company’s return on investment (ROI). The book is divided into 9 sections and a total of 28 chapters. Each section culminates with a summary of each section. The textbook is followed by three workbooks: one each for contracting, logistics, and reverse logistics. The workbooks provide case studies, questions, and essays for each case study, while chapters are concluded with proposed weekly discussion questions, sample test/quiz questions for each chapter. These chapter questions could be used to populate potential final exams. Dr. Robert Lee Gordon is currently the Program Director for the Reverse Logistics Management department at American Public University. Dr. Gordon has over twenty-five years of professional experience in supply chain management and human resources. Dr. Gordon earned his Doctorate of Management and Organizational Leadership and his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix as well earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from UCLA. Dr. Gordon has been teaching for over sixteen years and regularly instructs courses in reverse logistics, transportation, contract management, project management, and human resources. Dr. Gordon has over forty published articles about reverse logistics, supply chain management, project management, human resources, education, and complexity. Dr. Gordon also has four published books on the topics of Reverse Logistics Management, Complexity and Project Management, Virtual Project Management Organizations, and Successful Program Management.
