100 Great Supply Chain Partners
Readers Recognize Providers Who Improve Efficiency
Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies, August, 2004

With the 2004 Olympic games upon us, the whole world is celebrating those athletes showing individual excellence, an enduring will to succeed and the ability to bring out the best in their teammates. This second annual Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies 100 Great Supply Chain Partners report follows the same themes. Manufacturers, retailers and all other businesses competing in today's demand global marketplace recognize partners that possess the skills they need and which have the customer commitment to help them achieve supply-chain success.

Like the Olympic games, the 100 Great Supply Chain Partners report is a worldwide event including competitors from small and large organizations with skills of many types. We received more than 2,000 nominations from five continents for more than 500 vendors of every conceivable type of supply-chain activity - from enterprise-wide planning systems, to global third-party logistics providers to highly specialized transportation services. The largest and most-widely known 3PLs and technology vendors were among the nominees, but so were regional transportation companies and small, boutique consulting firms. The recognition was for achievement - not for size or scope.

For those not yet familiar with the GL&SCS 100 Great Supply Chain Partners program, it is the result of a six-month poll of readers in which we asked logistics and supply-chain professionals to nominate vendors and service providers whose technology, logistics, transportation or consulting solutions have made a significant impact on their company's efficiency, customer service and overall supply-chain performance. The purpose of the list in this report is to recognize those vendors that have so impressed our readers that they deserve to be singled out and to be held up as examples for others in the industry. In one sense, it is an opportunity to thank those providers who have helped our readers achieve better results, and to let the industry know who is making a genuine effort to be a supply-chain partner - not just another vendor. On a higher plane, the commentary in this report is intended to emphasize which services, technology, expertise and support our entire industry needs for all of us to be more successful.

We received nominations for carriers in every mode of transportation. Most are represented on our final list, as are various outsourced logistics services and a wide range of supply-chain technologies. Today's supply chains clearly require tremendous teamwork from many disciplines to bring home the gold.

Regardless of what type of vendor a reader nominated, there are clear themes within the commentaries that accompanied most of the ballots. As with our first report last year - and probably forever - the most common 10 qualities that users looked for in their vendors were as follows:

1. Cost savings and identifiable ROI - Most readers are being measured on their ability to cut costs and show returns on supply chain investments, so they appreciate vendors that help them in that regard.
2. Reliability and ability to meet commitments - Particularly in the case of carriers and other outsourced services, on-time performance, every time with no surprises was the key performance metric.
3. Inventory reductions and cycle time improvement - Supply-chain improvement is primarily measured by lowering inventories and increasing their velocity, so software and services that support this effort are winners.
4. Flexibility and problem solving ability - Few supply chains run smoothly, so the ability to adapt quickly to change without missing a step is highly prized, along with the ability to customize solutions to meet evolving needs.
5. Visibility - Whether it's shipments, orders or inventory, companies want technology and service providers that can provide real-time information.
6. Continuous improvement - Companies want help improving their own processes, and they expect vendors to constantly improve their own.
7. Ease of use - Both technology and service providers have to make their offerings intuitive so users anywhere can gain full benefits with no training.
8. Can-do attitude - The greatest accolades were bestowed on those vendors that took on any challenge and found a way to accomplish a goal without complaints or excuses.
9. Global coverage - While not a universal requirement among carriers and 3PLs, the ability to provide service backed by local knowledge anywhere in the world is important to large and small companies.
10. Comprehensive service - Particularly in the case of 3PLs and other logistics providers, companies appreciate vendors whose range of services covers as many needs as possible.

Five additional themes were prominent among the justifications that users provided in their nominations, no doubt indicating new priorities within today's supply chains:

1. Security orientation - Especially for ocean carriers, forwarders and 3PLs, shippers expect their vendors to meet or exceed international security guidelines and participate in voluntary programs such as Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).
2. Collaborative capabilities - Technology and service vendors that can help extend the supply chain and make it as seamless as possible to internal and external users.
3. Customer knowledge and expertise - Consultants are paid specifically for their wisdom, but companies also expect their technology and service providers to offer ongoing support, integration assistance and special expertise.
4. Process orientation - Companies need to implement best practices and efficient processes into their business operations. They are turning to their vendors to help them.
5. Focus on execution - While innovation and good communications are important, there is no substitute for getting the job done right, every time.

Finally, before presenting the reader nominations and their comments, please consider the following housekeeping points:

• The methodology for exactly how the Supply Chain Partners program was conducted is presented below. Very simply, the companies listed here are entirely based on voluntary responses from readers. No one at GL&SCS had anything to do with which companies were nominated.
• We have included 100 vendors just because it is a manageable number. We actually received nominations for more than 500. The companies included just had more, and more in-depth nominations than the others. The comments offered for these unmentioned companies clearly reflect their customers' appreciation, but we had to draw the line somewhere. For better or for worse, the number 100 has become the standard for any list of this type.
• We think the supporting comments are at least as important as the fact that a partner has been nominated, so we have included many quotes from nominations and follow-up interviews. Space does not allow us to reproduce anywhere near the total number of responses we received.

Methodology for the 100 Great Supply Chain Partners

The list accompanying this report is based entirely on the entries voluntarily submitted by readers of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies and users of its sister web site, SupplyChainBrain.com, where the official nomination form has been posted since the early spring. Over the last few months, many GL&SCS readers received e-mails asking them to participate and directing them to the form. Other readers and users of the web site independently found a link to the official nomination form on the home page of SupplyChainBrain.com.

Nominations could only be made using the official web-enabled form that required nominators to identify themselves, their position, their company, their e-mail address and a phone number where they could be reached to verify their responses. If they chose, participants could elect to remain anonymous for purposes of being identified in this report. However, for their nomination to be counted, the participants had to provide adequate identifying information to verify their identity and their legitimate role in the industry. Nominations from participants selecting their own companies or closely allied entities were disqualified, as were multiple nominations from the same customer company.

Participants could nominate up to three companies and could support their nomination with as much or as little commentary as they wished. To provide more in-depth information for this report, some nominators were interviewed after they submitted their completed forms. We received more than 1,500 qualified responses nominating over 500 different companies. The final list presented here includes the 100 companies that received the most nominations. In the case of ties, the nominations with the most detailed justification were selected.