Internet and high-tech collaboration tools can add structure and security to a globally complex supplier-to-customer data-transfer process.

In the last year the headlines have been full of news about global supply chains and the disasters affecting them. From the Thai floods to the Japanese tsunami, to the tornadoes in Wichita and the Nylon-12 plant explosion in Germany, several fundamental truths about global supply chains have been made more apparent.

Back in the 1990s there was a popular series of picture books with an unusual twist. When you looked at the pictures on the surface you would see an intricate two-dimensional image that was mildly interesting. But if you learned how to look past the surface, suddenly a much richer and deeper three-dimensional image would reveal itself. Seeing it took extra work - some people would get very frustrated when they couldn't get it to appear - but the reward made it worth the effort.