Fidelitone - News

Whether your company is a supplier, manufacturer or retailer, the supply chains you participate in are increasingly interdependent. No single company can succeed unless all supply chain participants operate as one seamless entity.

July, 2006 - Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies Magazine
By: Thomas A. Foster

In fact, the key to global business success today is all about strengthening the supply chain by working with the best "linking" partners. These vital players include technology companies that create and share real-time data, third-party logistics providers and carriers that physically move product from supplier to customer, consultants that constantly improve business processes and communication, and countless other vendors that can make or break a successful supply chain.

This 100 Great Supply Chain Partners report covers the globe. We have received nearly 2,000 nominations from small and large companies covering scores of different industries on five continents. More than 400 vendors of every conceivable type of supply chain activity-from software, to specialized technologies, to global 3PLs, to highly specialized transportation services. Vendors being nominated include many of the most widely known logistics providers and technology vendors, of course. This year, we also received a huge number of nominations for regional service providers, emerging tech companies and niche consulting firms. The breadth of these nominations shows what our readers are looking for results and not for size and geographic scope.

Nominations could only be made using the official web-enabled form that required nominators to identify themselves, their position, their company, their e-mail address and a phone number where they could be reached to verify their responses. For their nomination to be counted, the participants had to provide adequate identifying information to verify their legitimate role in the industry. Nominations from participants selecting their own companies or closely allied entities were disqualified, as were multiple nominations from the same customer company.

For Originals Inc., Deerfield , Ill. , a young entrepreneurial company on a rapid growth track, Fidelitone Logistics has been a critical component in developing its business. According to Meg Blevins, vice president of operations, Originals is the business of helping consumer products companies create successful bands and products, and bring them to market with innovative sales techniques. Its business is all about flexibility and quick response to market opportunities.

"Processes, products and customers in our business change rapidly some times overnight," she says, "In fact we are planning a major system implementation over the next few months. Fidelitone Logistics' flexibility, support and can-do attitude has enabled Originals' growth."

10 most common qualifications that users looked for in their vendors:
1. Reliability-Without doubt, the single most important element that our readers value is reliability. These readers' customers will not accept excuses for service failures. And when a vendor has proved itself to be rock-solid reliable, an enduring partnership is assured.

2. Repeatable excellence-While good performance is expected, the vendors receiving accolades for service always went over and above what was required. At least one quarter of our nominations provided an example of how a vendor exceeded expectations on many occasions.

3. Value and cost savings-As many readers commented, their key motivation for purchasing any new technology or outsourced service was cost savings, but the most important financial measure was value in terms of increasing sales, production or some other revenue-related metric.

4. Expertise and knowledge base-Manufactures and retailers increasingly look to their technology and logistics providers for best practices specific to their industry, market or product. Vendors that have this expertise quickly become trusted advisers. Vendors that claim to be masters of all trades have no credibility.

5. Problem-solving ability-Many or our nominations were based on companies that had experienced emergencies. Partners that were able to deal effectively with these unexpected events without missing a step earned the eternal gratitude of their customers.

6. Continuous improvement-Especially for technology vendors, companies want to see a plan for product development, so they know their needs will be met in the years ahead.

7. Support-The downsizing of most companies means that they have greater dependence on their vendors to implement, train, maintain and support the technologies and service provided. The support component is almost as important as the technology or service itself.

8. Positive culture-The phrase most often mentioned in all of our nominations was "can-do." Companies want to do business with vendors that are positive about what they can accomplish. The greatest accolades were bestowed on those vendors that took on any challenge and found a way to accomplish a goal without complaints or excuses.

9. Global capabilities-As supply chains become more global, companies of all sizes are looking for technologies and services that allow them to operate with trading partners all over the world.

10. Strong management-Most businesses today experience frequent personnel turnover, even at the highest ranks. Nothing can damage the relationship between a company and its partners faster than an erosion of commitment from the partner's management. Leadership is monitored very carefully by companies that depend on their supply chain partners.

5 additional themes prominent among justifications that users provided in their nominations:
1. Process focus-Business process management is the new mantra for many companies, and they expect their service and technology providers to help them implement best practices and efficient processes. Essentially, consulting is becoming a required element of any offering.

2. Visibility-Status of shipments, inventory and orders is no longer enough. Companies are constantly looking farther back into the supply chain for information from suppliers and farther forward into customer demand. Technologies need to meet this need, and 3PLs need to implement it.

3. Regulatory compliance-Regulatory compliance has always been important, especially for such industries as chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals. Risk management and global security have raised compliance to a new level. Mistakes can result in more that fines and legal complications. Compliance failures can stop a supply chain in its tracks. Users want services and technologies that can deal with the growing body of regulations for security, trade, hazmat, labor, etc.

4. Integration capabilities-For supply chain technologies, the need for fast and easy integration of solutions with other systems has never been greater. Even with 3PLs, there is a growing demand for integrating the provider's services with company operations and those of other partners.

5. Growth mandate-Companies that have aggressive growth plans of their own are looking for vendors that are eager to grow with them. This requirement applies to all partners. In the case of technology, they want to know the functionality will be there when they need it. For service providers, they want to work with companies that are adding capabilities and coverage, either through organic growth or acquisition.*

3PLs Rule
Nearly half of the nominations we received in this year's 100 Great Supply Chain Partners program were for logistics service providers, including carriers, forwarders, 3PLs and a variety of specialized vendors. The largest service providers were prominent among these entries because of their broad capabilities and scope of the services and geography.*

Conclusion
We thank all of the readers of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies who participated in the 100 Great Supply Chain Partners program for 2006. By voicing your appreciation for the vendors of technology and services that help you achieve your supply chain goals, you not only give them the recognition that they deserve, but you point out to all vendors the qualities that you admire-and expect. That effort helps the entire industry. Thank you again, and we look forward to your participation in next year's 100 Great supply Chain Partners program.*
*Excerpts from the July 2006 article.