TABLE OF CONTENTS The most valuable investment in time and effort is in the early planning and development of a supply chain collaboration partnership. A partnership implies dependence on one another. A partnership implies that the partners have something to gain from the partnership. In evaluating the most successful collaboration efforts, they have the following in common in how they developed the collaboration partnerships (see Figure 31).
Cross-functional teams from both enterprises are assigned
Cross-functional teams include executive sponsors, senior directors, and process users as project team members
Education sessions with team members from both enterprises are conducted to better understand each other's businesses and current planning and replenishment processes
Workshop sessions with team members from both enterprises are conducted to define the business arrangement and to create a joint business plan
The products that will be included in the supply chain collaboration effort are identified and agreed on
Metrics and scorecards are agreed on
A pilot program is defined and agreed on, including how the process will function and roles and responsibilities
The pilot results are reviewed and presented to the executive sponsors to determine whether to continue to collaborate and how to improve the collaboration process Marketing
The first step (after determining that there is a desire to collaborate) is to develop a team with representatives from both business enterprises. All aspects of a business organization are typically impacted by supply chain collaboration. Therefore, it is crucial that the team is cross-functional in...
