In the supply chain management world that we inhabit, everyone knows about SCM concepts, right? That's true whether you work for a third-party logistics provider, a software developer, a transportation company, as a consultant, or for the supply chain/logistics department of some enterprise that uses one or more of these services.

But what if you are the National Association of Free Clinics? The business of this umbrella non-profit is to advocate for many of the free clinics that serve millions of Americans with no medical or health insurance. They dispense medications and medical devices. What do they know about supply chain management? Not a great deal until Aidmatrix entered the picture.

The winner of this year's GL&SCS and CSCMP Supply Chain Innovation Award, Aidmatrix has prescribed SCM concepts and technology for what ailed free clinics-an inefficient system that did little to encourage pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers to donate or discount their products.

We salute Aidmatrix. Its online portal, FreeClinic Link, has revolutionized the procurement and order process. Clinic volunteers with no supply chain expertise now can efficiently requisition supplies within the stringent compliance laws governing pharmaceuticals, and within donors' own stipulations for tax write-offs. Millions of dollars' worth of medical products have been made available because of Aidmatrix technology. And it costs neither the uninsured nor the taxpayer a penny.

The six other finalists have their own compelling stories about innovation to tell.

Bakers, which imports footwear from China, sought to come up with a DC bypass strategy. Along the way, it discovered a way to cut order cycle times, eliminate unnecessary shipment processing, and react more quickly to changes in the market.

The Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division of Deere & Co., which makes riding lawnmowers, golf-course maintenance equipment, and utility vehicles, had already taken $1bn out of its inventory when it embarked on a massive supply chain overhaul that can handle the seasonal nature of its business.

Kraft Foods wanted to collaborate with its customers more closely and involve them as co-designers of supply chain value. Whom do you turn to for the right advice? Kraft used proven concepts from the world of product innovation and design as its guide.

New products are the backbone of business for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, but its process for getting new products to market was slow and antiquated. Here's to the innovative solution the LCBO  came up with.

Motorola was hammered by issues of quality, cost and customer service. So it took on the job of harmonizing its processes through creation of an Integrated Supply Chain organization.

Realizing that finding available sailing capacity has long been a tedious task for shippers of containerized ocean freight, the creators of OceanSchedules.com applied the Google model to put schedule  data in a single, searchable location.

The task of any aspirant to the Supply Chain Innovation award is to show how its innovation resulted in demonstrable cost savings, revenue generation and/or customer satisfaction. Read these case studies and you'll see each of our finalists did just that.

Congratulations to each and every one of them.