Companies have made great strides in fostering collaboration with their trading partners, says Joseph Andraski, president and chief executive officer of Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions (VICS). But there's still work to be done, especially with regard to tearing down internal and external silos.

Business is going green because of pressure from government and consumers. But the push for sustainability can also aid in controlling costs at a time of economic crisis, says Joe Martha, vice president of Booz-Allen Hamilton.

When Intel decided to enter the low-cost chip market with its Atom microprocessor, a small form-factor product made for notebook computers and mobile internet devices, it needed a much lower-cost supply chain than the one that serviced its high-end products. The company achieved this goal by shortening its cycle time enough to enable a build-to-order strategy, explains Jim Kellso, senior supply chain master at Intel.