While red-carpet treatment is sometimes extended to celebrities who have done little or nothing to deserve it - can you say Kardashian? - most of the time such recognition is reserved for people who have actually achieved something. Often that means they have done something helpful or beneficial for others. And that's the group we celebrate in this, our annual 100 Great Supply Chain Partners issue.

Supply chains are just as susceptible to faddish behavior as anything else. We're social animals, so we tend to follow the crowd - especially if we believe that the crowd has a competitive edge. That's why so many companies flocked to China over the last couple of decades, in search of ever-cheaper sources of production. Or why outsourcing became such a hot trend over that same period of time.