OEMs' insistence on more and more cost reductions has caused painful friction in the relationship, according to the annual Global OEM-Supplier Relations Study conducted by IHS Automotive. The survey allows automotive suppliers to rate car makers on a variety of matters, including technology sourcing, profit-impacting factors, quality management and intellectual property protection matters.

As the manufacturing industry spins its web across the world more and more, the network connecting businesses and their partners become much more complex. One of these areas most impacted is a company's supply chain, the main catalyst of one's ability to produce and distribute their products as efficiently and to as large and diverse of a customer base as possible. While this broadening supply chain ability certainly brings along many benefits, the ability to manage risk, particularly in the area of quality, becomes quite challenging.

Companies today are awash in a sea of data. Each individual link of the supply chain yields bits of information that are critical to meeting customer demand and optimizing business processes. Unfortunately, they are seldom utilized in a holistic manner. Analytics can't deliver their true value unless the data is assembled in meaningful patterns, and embedded deep within the organization.

A global survey of CFOs and supply chain leaders by professional services organization EY finds that companies with evidence of strong "business partnering" between the CFO and the supply chain leaders report better results than those with a more traditional finance model in place.