A friend is someone you know and like. Depending upon a number of factors, a friend can
be someone you trust and and who can be counted on to help you in good times or bad. But
doesn’t that describe a partner as well? We don’t think so.
Aside from the fact that a partner may not be someone you’re particularly fond of, a partnership is based on mutual interests, not mutual likes and dislikes. A partner associates with
another in a joint endeavor usually sharing its risks and profits. And that’s the big difference, it
seems to us. A partner is not someone that you necessarily share the intimate and personal with.
There’s a healthy distance between you and the partner, which helps him or her tell you what
you need to know to ensure the viability of the alliance. A partner brings an expertise to the relationship that you would not otherwise have. Finally, a partner is someone committed to helping
you advance in some manner because your success, or failure, is the partner’s as well.
Which brings us to the 100 Great Supply Chain Partners. In this special issue, we again celebrate
those companies that have been nominated by their partners as someone deserving recognition
because their product or service has been of great value to them. Whether in logistics, technology
or consulting, these 100 selected companies have aided, advanced, improved—choose your
word—the supply chain management of their clients. We salute them, and those readers who took
the time to nominate their partners. It goes without saying that they know the whole world will see
the identities of their supply chain partners. When so many go to such extremes to keep that information secret, it is remarkable that these folks would come forward and say in effect, I want everyone to see who has been working alongside my company, guiding and instructing us, and sharing
the trials and triumphs because we have a vested interest in each other.
This is not to say that the readers who “named names” don’t have their own capabilities; of
course, they do. Many of them are tops in their areas, whether that’s manufacturing, distribution
or retail, and regardless of the vertical they specialize in. But no one can do it all; not well. So,
they turn to the expertise of others.
We’ve featured nine such relationships as stand-alone case studies to illustrate the kind of partnership we’re talking about. Some of these alliances are relatively new, others have been ongoing
for some time. We think each demonstrates how true partnership leads to a company’s success.
In addition, the Spotlights are another component of this report. In them, we’ve culled comments from some of the nominations. We feel these remarks, unfiltered and straight from the
shoulder, attest to the value brought to these relationships in a way that a case study doesn’t.
As always, the scope of the 100 Great Supply Chain Partners issue is truly global. We received
more than 2,800 nominations this year from companies of every size and description. The nomi-
