Analyst Insight: No matter what "expert" you ask – all will point to the fact that SRM is on the rise. This growing realization that buyers and suppliers must work together to achieve success in today's complex and volatile economic climate is a welcome sea change in thinking that only will continue. A key to getting SRM right? Make sure you are putting in mechanisms to manage the business with the supplier – not just to manage the supplier. – Kate Vitasek, Faculty for the University of Tennessee's Center for Graduate Executive Education programs.

Analyst Insight: A major reason the majority of start-ups and mergers are destined to fail is that companies are not aligned when it comes to determining the nature of their business, what they want to achieve and how they will achieve it. Misalignment can happen both internally and externally and almost always translates into frustration and failure. – Kate Vitasek, Faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Graduate Executive Education programs.

Analyst Insight: If the wheels on your vehicle are out of alignment, you're in for a rough and inefficient ride. The same holds true for businesses. Alignment, especially in strategic relationships, gets businesses beyond the initial "yes" that sets a deal in motion"”it aligns the participants throughout the life of the deal, turning it into a smooth and powerful relationship. - Kate Vitasek, Faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education, and Founder, Supply Chain Visions

In the wake of the Great Recession and the still lethargic economic recovery, the importance of sound governance practices across the supply chain is more crucial than ever in building and maintaining effective, collaborative 3PL-shipper relationships. Positive news in the authoritative 18th Annual 2014 Third-Party Logistics Study: collaboration between shippers & 3PLs is up. The majority surveyed say their relationships have grown more collaborative over the past three years, "with shippers even more likely than 3PLs to say they are much more collaborative." - Kate Vitasek, faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education and Founder, Supply Chain Visions