I think we’ve all heard the parable of the wise men that are blindfolded and try to describe an elephant by touch. One takes hold of the tail and says an elephant is like a rope. One puts his hands on the side of the elephant and says an elephant is like a wall.

You get the picture – or actually, you don’t.

In many instances we view our supply chains like those wise men, seeing only the part we touch.

When World Trade 100 and SMC3 recently announced “The Alliance” awards, the question we asked was, “What does a high-performing supply chain look like?” The answer lies in bringing together the various alliance partners who are driving the results to describe their roles and contributions to the end result.

It’s a big job assembling that picture, but the rewards are worth the effort – not just the chance for recognition by World Trade 100 and SMC3 but for the ability to drive even better results.

The collaborative efforts of a high-performing supply chain provide a model you can use to demonstrate value to other supply chain partners and bring them to the table and improve cooperation towards mutually beneficial goals. They also provide leverage with top management to gain more support for supply chain initiatives.

And, hardly the final reason, but the last one on this short list, a strong, resilient supply chain speaks to the concerns investors and other stakeholders may have. Customers, suppliers and investors want to work with companies that have lower risks of supply chain disruptions and better prospects for continuous improvement.

We’ve donned our safari hats and we’re looking for elephants. If you’ve seen one, gather together your team of wise men, take off the blindfolds and describe your elephant.
The site for The Alliance award is http://thealliance.worldtradewt100.com/