I have exciting news for the World Trade 100 community. 

In partnership with SMC³ , World Trade 100 has launched the industry-first supply chain award – The Alliance. 

What makes The Alliance unique is that it recognizes excellence in supply chain performance that is the result of close cooperation and collaboration of supply chain partners. We truly want to look at your supply chain and acknowledge significant achievements and improvements you accomplished in partnership with your logistics providers, carriers, technology partners, suppliers, and customers.

Awarded in five distinct categories, The Alliance looks at more than the outcome of the supply chain partnerships. It also examines the dynamic partnerships that were formed to drive results. A panel of distinguished judges will examine the role of each of the partners and the contributions their individual and collective efforts have made to solving a supply chain problem or driving change and continuous improvement in your supply chain.

Submissions in each category will be evaluated on metrics and results and on the implementation of the processes and tools responsible for achieving top performance in the supply chain. They will also be examined for innovation and how the partnerships made best use of each alliance partner’s strengths.

Categories for submission and judging are:

•           Domestic Freight-Single Mode

•           Domestic Freight-Multimodal

•           International Freight

•           Warehousing

•           Sustainability

Supply chains recognized with The Alliance award will be profiled in the December issue of World Trade 100  and will be honored at the SMC³ Jump Start event in January 2013.

We at World Trade 100  and SMC ³ are excited to launch The Alliance award and recognize your achievements in the context of your supply chain. I encourage readers to visit The Alliance Web site at www.thealliance.worldtradewt100.com for more information on the award and to begin the application process.

Deadline for entries is August 31, 2012.