In the wake of the Great Recession and the still lethargic economic recovery, the importance of sound governance practices across the supply chain is more crucial than ever in building and maintaining effective, collaborative 3PL-shipper relationships. Positive news in the authoritative 18th Annual 2014 Third-Party Logistics Study: collaboration between shippers & 3PLs is up. The majority surveyed say their relationships have grown more collaborative over the past three years, "with shippers even more likely than 3PLs to say they are much more collaborative." - Kate Vitasek, faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education and Founder, Supply Chain Visions

Analyst Insight: Even a solid collaborative relationship between the buyer and the supplier can struggle if the consumer somehow gets lost in the cloud or pigeonholed on a complicated supply chain dashboard. The key is to listen to your customers constantly and set up communications frameworks within an adaptable governance structure to include and maintain a customer-centric focus. - Kate Vitasek, faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education, and Founder, Supply Chain Visions