Resources ## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/) 2. [Resources](/resources/resource-center) 3. [Resource Center](/resources/resource-center) # Why the Top Five Forms of Supply Chain Collaboration May Be Slowing You Down ![banner-image](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/2021-08/supply%20chain%20issue%20management%20thumbnail%2011.png) - [Download PDF](/node/20721/pdf) - [Share](#) - [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.tracelink.com/resources/resource-center/supply-chain-collaboration&title=Why the Top Five Forms of Supply Chain Collaboration May Be Slowing You Down&summary=Email and phone calls top the list of supply chain collaboration methods, but they also impede efforts to reduce disruptions. Get the survey results. &source=TraceLink "LinkedIn") - [ Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.tracelink.com/resources/resource-center/supply-chain-collaboration&t=Why the Top Five Forms of Supply Chain Collaboration May Be Slowing You Down "Facebook") - [ Mail ](mailto:?subject=Why the Top Five Forms of Supply Chain Collaboration May Be Slowing You Down+|+TraceLink&body=https://www.tracelink.com/resources/resource-center/supply-chain-collaboration "Mail") - [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Why the Top Five Forms of Supply Chain Collaboration May Be Slowing You Down https://www.tracelink.com/resources/resource-center/supply-chain-collaboration&via=TraceLink "Twitter") #### Table of contents ### Key Takeaways - Email and phone calls top the list of supply chain collaboration methods, but they also impede efforts to reduce disruptions. - Collaborative, multienterprise applications help organizations rapidly digitalize supply chain issue management processes, improve visibility, and kick off [Industry 4.0](/resources/resource-center/establishing-a-strategic-foundation-for-industry-4-0 "Industry 4.0") transformation efforts. Email, phone calls, and a combination of in-person and virtual meetings are the top forms of supply chain collaboration, according to a recent survey of executives at manufacturing organizations. The Gatepoint Research survey of 105 company leaders—including managers, directors, vice presidents, and C-level executives—also revealed that spreadsheets and file management systems round out the top five forms of [supply chain collaboration](https://www.tracelink.com/agile-supply-chain/insights/the-top-6-supplier-relationship-management-challenges "supply chain collaboration"). Companies that have yet to adopt digital technology in their supply chain or are just beginning their supply chain transformation efforts must take action now. But supply chain professionals and experts warn that these traditional communication tools may also impede efforts to improve on-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery performance and reduce supply chain disruptions. A new breed of collaborative, multienterprise applications offer significant benefits over traditional communication tools. These include: - Complete visibility into issue management processes with real-time dashboards - Faster supply chain issue resolution times - A single, centralized source of data—and truth—for all supply chain partners - Structured, workflow-driven, and configurable supply chain issue resolution processes Collaborative, multienterprise work management solutions also offer improved root cause analysis capabilities and support for [continuous business process improvement](https://go.tracelink.com/supply-chain-issue-management-best-practices-handbook.html "handbook") methodologies like Six Sigma. ![](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/2021-07/Chart3.png)**A smarter form of supply chain collaboration** Unstructured and decentralized manual communication methods like phone calls, emails, and spreadsheets can prevent manufacturing organizations from achieving full visibility into supply chain issues that can lead to disruptions, according to supply chain professionals and industry analysts. At the same time, [collaborative multienterprise applications](https://www.tracelink.com/agile-supply-chain/insights/supplier-relationship-management-best-practices) can help organizations rapidly digitalize supply chain issue management processes, improve visibility, and kick off Industry 4.0 transformation efforts. “Adopting a multienterprise work management platform has dramatically improved the overall performance of our value chain," said Steve Hydzik, the retired Vice President and Global Head of Manufacturing and Supply Chain, EA, and New Technologies at The Merck Group KGaA. "Everyone is on the same page and working from the same digital source of truth to provide transparency. We don’t need to search through emails and spreadsheets to see what is going on, what needs to happen next, and why something happened. We’ve cut our incident resolution times by 5x, and the visibility has helped us prevent issues from recurring.” Simon Ellis, an IDC Program Vice President and leader of the Supply Chain Strategies Practices at IDC Manufacturing Insights, warns that companies that haven't launched Industry 4.0 supply chain transformation efforts risk falling behind. "Companies that have yet to adopt digital technology in their supply chain or are just beginning their supply chain transformation efforts must take action now. These companies can start by exploring ways to deploy enabling technology with agile processes,” Ellis wrote in an IDC report. “These processes should support end-to-end collaboration, provide actionable visibility, and enable data sharing between partners both inside and outside the organization and across all stakeholder functions. [Download our new handbook to learn how multienterprise applications can deliver operational excellence across your supply chain.](https://go.tracelink.com/supply-chain-issue-management-best-practices-handbook.html "Handbook Download") [![](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/2021-06/SupplyChainIssueManagementHandbook_LinkedIn%20%281%29.jpg)](https://go.tracelink.com/supply-chain-issue-management-best-practices-handbook.html "Supply Chain Issue Management Best Practices Handbook") [Blog](/category/blog)[Supply Chain Collaboration](/category/supply-chain-collaboration), [Supply Chain Digitalization](/category/supply-chain-digitalization)[Supply Chain](/category/supply-chain) #### Table of contents Subscribe to Agile Supply Chain Insights Stay informed with the latest patient-centric agile supply chain thought leadership content. document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { // Delay the execution by 2 seconds (2000 milliseconds) setTimeout(function() { (function() { 'use strict'; // Load Marketo form MktoForms2.loadForm("//go.tracelink.com", "776-BAW-230", 2258); })(); // Wait until the Marketo form is loaded MktoForms2.whenReady(function(form) { var formElement = document.getElementById('mktoForm_2258'); if (!formElement) { console.error("Form with id 'mktoForm_2258' not found."); return; } var formLocation = formElement.querySelector("input[name=formLocation]"); // Get the current URL and set the formLocation field if (formLocation) { var currentURL = window.location.href; formLocation.value = currentURL; } // Add onSuccess handler form.onSuccess(function(values, followUpUrl) { var formElem = form.getFormElem()[0]; if (formElem) { formElem.style.display = 'none'; } else { console.warn("Form element could not be found to hide it."); } var confirmMessage = document.getElementById('confirmform'); if (confirmMessage) { confirmMessage.style.display = 'block'; } else { console.warn("Confirmation message with id 'confirmform' not found."); } return false; // Prevent the form from submitting normally }); }); }, 2000); // Delay for 2 seconds }); **Thank you for contacting us; we’ll be in touch shortly.** ##### Learn more about the power of digital supply networks: [ ![wholesaler-computer-storage-scanner-audit.png](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/styles/resize_image_style_640_480/public/_global-asset/images/insights/wholesaler-computer-storage-scanner-audit.png.webp?itok=lVk4B5di) ](/resources/resource-center/supply-chain-risk-survey) ##### Survey: Late Shipments Top List of Biggest Sources of Supply Chain Risk Manufacturing executives reveal the top sources of supply chain risk—and what you can do about them. Get the survey results. [View More](/resources/resource-center/supply-chain-risk-survey) [ ![updated_supply_plan.png](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/styles/resize_image_style_640_480/public/_global-asset/images/solutions/digital-supply-chain/agile-process-teams/updated_supply_plan.png.webp?itok=wX6zoS1z) ](/resources/resource-center/supplier-quality-challenge) ##### The Supplier Quality Challenge: Improving Products and Business Processes with Multienterprise Work Management Ensuring supplier quality is a major challenge for supplier relationship management teams. Learn how multienterprise work management can help. [View More](/resources/resource-center/supplier-quality-challenge) [ ![line-management](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/styles/resize_image_style_640_480/public/2021-08/supply%20chain%20issue%20management%20thumbnail%2013.png.webp?itok=uV2FbIm-) ](/resources/resource-center/top-six-supply-chain-issue-management-challenges) ##### The Top Six Supply Chain Issue Management Challenges—and How to Overcome Them Lengthy issue resolution times top the list of the six biggest challenges to successful supply chain issue management. Get the survey results. [View More](/resources/resource-center/top-six-supply-chain-issue-management-challenges) [ ![Keep your business running and growing ](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/styles/resize_image_style_640_480/public/2021-03/Accordion-Images-SPI-2.jpg.webp?itok=1eybd0eB) ](/resources/resource-center/inside-the-rise-of-digital-supply-networks) ##### Inside the Rise of the Digital Supply Network: What Does the Future Hold for Supply Chains? Explore the evolution of supply chain technology—and see where supplier relationship management is heading in the future. [View More](/resources/resource-center/inside-the-rise-of-digital-supply-networks) [ ![thoughtleadership_supplychain_shipping_scan.jpg](https://www.tracelink.com/sites/default/files/styles/resize_image_style_640_480/public/_global-asset/images/agile-supply-chain/thoughtleadership_supplychain_shipping_scan.jpg.webp?itok=53JaphhM) ](/resources/resource-center/poor-visibility-tops-idc-list-of-6-obstacles-to-pharma-supply-chain-resilience) ##### Poor Visibility Tops IDC’s List of 6 Obstacles to Pharma Supply Chain Resilience More than half of companies across the end-to-end pharma supply chain lack the upstream and downstream visibility needed to respond effectively to sudden marketplace disruptions, according to new research from market intelligence firm IDC into the impact of COVID-19 on the global pharmaceutical industry. [View More](/resources/resource-center/poor-visibility-tops-idc-list-of-6-obstacles-to-pharma-supply-chain-resilience)