For years we’ve been aware of Manufacturing Companies implementing LEAN initiatives. Those same concepts were looked at for the Retail industry over the last 5 years, and companies were building out teams that were tasked with looking within their organization to improve the customer experience and provide better value through the elimination of waste. These days those same principles are being used, but many organizations are taking the concept future through “Green” initiatives.

I've written plenty about getting suppliers into electronic trading with their partners. I've shared that if you have EDI services and so do you partners, you should be collaborating so that you can exchange data electronically. I've also shared that if you have EDI capabilities and your convinced that bigger partners are the only ones that are qualified to have EDI capabilities, you're making a poor assumption. Many smaller to mid sized supppliers do indeed have the ability, but have not shared they can exchange with you. You should put together a strategy to work with these smaller companies. Lastly, if you yourself do not have EDI capabilities, it's not too late to make a difference in your organization.