"Proactive" visibility is what matters most in effectively managing supply chain disruptions, i.e., when companies get the right information when it matters, from all critical internal stakeholders, as well as external supply chain partners. Companies need to have event management capabilities to aid in this process.

The lengthening of supply chains at both the supplier's and the customer's side of the equation has resulted in an increased need for collaboration of all kinds.

Business process management will continue to be a topic of interest to supply chain companies in 2009. Because process change can be implemented without significant cash investments, BPM will stay fashionable in lean economic times. Adoption will be compartmental for a number of reasons: the economy, organizational politics and the lack of any vendor solution that completely meets business requirements.