People are our greatest asset. We've heard this – and similar sayings – for years. Now, however, leading firms are actually putting this into practice, and are reaping rewards for doing so. Going into 2018, people are still a critical link in the supply chain. -Donnie Williams, Asst. Professor of Logistics & Supply Chain Management, and Karl B. Manrodt, Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, both at Georgia College & State University

Over 20 years, Brian Komoto built a thriving pharmacy in California’s Central Valley. Each day, his nurses would travel the vast agricultural region’s roads to help hepatitis C patients take a grueling regimen of shots.

With the ability to automatically and accurately share data across corporate boundaries, blockchain is more than just hype. It has the potential to be a true game-changer. On par with how email changed the way we communicate in business, blockchain is on the cusp of a tremendous breakthrough in how products and the data associated with them move across the supply chain. -Melanie Nuce, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, GS1 US

Expectations of supply chain functions continue to intensify. As organizations face rapidly shifting markets, quality/reliability concerns, sustainability demands, and natural disasters and regional instability, suppliers represent a key strategic resource for enabling responsiveness, innovation, risk and cost reduction, and corporate social responsibility. Supply chain functions and procurement teams must move beyond a cost focus in supplier relationship management to develop mutually beneficial, collaborative partnerships. -Marisa Brown, Senior Supply Chain Principal Research Lead, APQC

For almost 50 years, the operations/supply chain profession has been embracing the sales and operations planning process to balance supply and demand in complex supply chain networks. As a former S&OP process owner for three Fortune 100 manufacturers, I can identify with the challenges associated with developing the process and sustaining it as well. With more and more tools emerging, especially supporting solid supply chain risk management, the future looks bright for strategic S&OP. -Gregory L. Schlegel, CPIM, CSP, Jonah, Founder, The Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium, Executive-in-Residence, Center for Supply Chain Research, Lehigh University