JENDROWSKI, NTE: We expect that the transportation industry will move to the same type of model that has worked in the airline reservation industry. Today, virtually all airline bookings are done with a handful of companies who represent the airline carriers.

Similarly, NTE is one of the places shippers can go to secure and execute transportation services. We expect online availability of freight capacity to expand significantly over time. Private trading communities will be a major catalyst.

Also, NTE right now has many customers whose people are not trained to look at a browser window on the Internet. They want us to send them a fax that comes up behind them and then a little bell rings and says, I’m here.

KIRKEGAARD, Vizional Technologies: The most prolific measurement I’ve seen chipping away on this visibility supply chain problem, and it’s been in the last ten years, is concurrency of information. Order visibility is the Rosetta Stone, the touchstone of concurrency. The breakthrough opportunity, to concurrently have many people acting on that problem, has tremendous benefits not only for the planned order, but for the unplanned order.

ARNOLD, Prologis: As best practices move toward supply chain collaboration, we foresee more customers including real estate in the strategic evaluations of their supply chain. This may well result in an optimization of distribution facilities through consolidations – in other words, consolidating several smaller, local facilities into a larger regional distribution center. With our global presence and local expertise we are already working with several of our large customers to provide not only the supply chain evaluation but facilities as well.

CICIO, Optum: The new collaborative supply chain begins with connectivity and ends in superior profitability and customer service.

MOREHOUSE, A.T. Kearney: Because we look at process as a series of discrete steps, we can’t see the whole picture and can’t optimize. Therefore, we’ve got a huge upside opportunity ahead of us.