If there's a single word that sums up the direction of business innovation and supply chain midway through the first decade of the 21st century, it might well be collaboration. Many enterprising individuals already use Web and other information sharing technologies to work in unprecedented, collaborative ways with a variety of experts, in a variety of fields in a variety of places on the planet.

China has become a manufacturing Mecca , India is becoming an information technology and financial services hub, Taiwan is a technology design and marketing center, Ireland has morphed into a software development hotbed, and Japan and the United States continue to lead in customer-centric design. What do these trends toward specialization and collaboration mean to the supply and demand chain executive?

It's increasingly taking us into a world of synchronized commerce, a world where the flows of goods, information and funds can be combined and choreographed to create value. In such a world, according to the supply chain leaders who've participated in the Longitudes conferences, supply chain pros can seize their own new opportunities to innovate by creating agile supply chains that are closely matched to the business plan. Already, many high-impacts, flexible supply chains cross a number of national borders to match the best suppliers with individual orders. It's no longer about taking advantage of economies of scale, but more about taking advantage of economies of expertise.

Below are links we recommended: