Living Supply Chains: How to Mobilize the Enterprise Around Delivering What Your Customers Want

Appendix 5C. ‘Strategic partnering’ technique

No matter how much the world changes, buyers, sellers and third parties will always need each other. (Anon)

Perhaps the single most strategic issue facing companies today is the overhaul and consequent re-design of their supply chains, i.e., the commercial and physical arrangements made with other parties in order to provide consumers or corporate users with access to products and services. This pressure for change has been brought about through rapid developments in most marketplaces.

Unfortunately, in most industrial situations the conflict between the various parties in distribution channels and supply chains continues, generally with a ‘zero-sum’ result. Often conflict arises because buyers and suppliers ...