There are numerous opportunities to instill organizational excellence, both within the walls of the warehouse and in outside relationships throughout the supply chain, says John Giangrande, senior account executive with Fortna.

Raul Corella, vice president of worldwide supply chain operations, stresses the importance of collaboration with key suppliers, understanding best practices and maintaining strict performance metrics - all with an eye toward continuous improvement.

It's great to have accurate supply-chain data within a given department. But companies must be able to communicate and collaborate across discrete business functions, as well as with outside suppliers. Sanjay Ravi, worldwide managing director of high tech & electronics industry at Microsoft, shows how it can be done.

Lean is a popular concept with many manufacturers, but it hasn't been widely applied in a coherent fashion that leads to bottom-line benefits. Tony Gorski, chief executive officer of DemandPoint, has some ideas on how companies can rethink their approach to the subject.