Boy if that title doesn’t catch your attention. There’s an interesting article over at CRMBuyer (here) featuring new research from Michigan State University.

According to the research, “the largest concerns today, in order, are avoiding disruptions, on-time delivery and leadership — evidence of a tactical approach to supply chain management, primarily driven by cost.”

Some of these themes are very consistent with what I’ve focused on in various posts, including this recent one here. I really liked their emphasis on managing relationships and find this to be very consistent with what I’ve been seeing in the market.

The research also stated that “while easier said than done, the MSU study suggests that companies should concentrate less on cutting cost out of their supply chain and more on creating radical innovation.” I’ve actually started to see a shift from a pure cost cutting mentality to one that balances cost cutting (this is not going away) with a drive towards strengthening top line performance (i.e., growth). And, more companies are starting to recognize that supply chain responsiveness and performance are enablers of this growth. As others have commented, companies are starting to compete more and more based on their supply chains.

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