Making the case for supply chain is both an art and a science, says Michael Dominy, vice president and chief of research with Gartner. He explains how supply-chain executives can communicate the message both up and down the organizational structure, and handle the sometimes-touchy issue of change management.

Analyst Insight: Supply chain transformation requires a business-aligned supply chain strategy and change management prowess. At its core, it is about change. Gartner defines supply chain transformation as a step function change in supply chain performance that is sustained for more than one year. Data from 30 in-depth interviews, hundreds of inquiries and interactions with Gartner clients during the past 18 months revealed the key drivers of supply chain transformations. - Michael Dominy, Research Director, Gartner Supply Chain Leaders

Analyst Insight: Theoretically, supply chain transformations deliver a different set of capabilities and outcomes that customers recognize. The reality is that a transformation may simply be a radical or rapid change to the supply chain organization and operations in response to changes in the marketplace. It could be a dramatic reduction in cost or improvement in service to remain competitive. In other words, the outcomes are not necessarily different, just better than the prior state. - Michael Dominy, Research Director, Gartner

Analyst Insight: Service providers are blending services across consulting, technology and outsourcing to deliver ongoing operational capabilities to supply chain organizations. Bundling multiple services for a client is not unusual or new. For at least the past five years, providers with multiple service lines have been presenting bundled services to clients. - Michael Dominy, Research Director, Gartner