This textbook continues to provide a compre-hensive coverage of the different aspects of materials management in a student-friendly manner. The book gives a clear introduction to materials management and discusses topics such as classification, codification, specifications and standardization of materials, which aid in effective purchasing. In view of their economic importance, materials planning and budgeting too have been covered in sufficient detail. Besides explaining the fundamental principles of stores management and materials handling, the text gives an in-depth analysis of inventory control with several illustrative examples. It also highlights the principles of purchasing, nature of purchasing process, value analysis and quality assurance. Intended primarily for theundergraduate and postgraduate students of production engineering/industrial management and engineering and postgraduate students of management , this book would also beuseful to the practising managers .New to this edition Incorporates two new chapters on: Supply Chain Management covering practically all the aspects of SCM – Customer Relationship Management Includes four new case studies pertaining to inventory control applied to supply chain management