The U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics (Roadmap) identifies trust and technology as two key barriers to effective collaboration. At MHI we are building and testing a platform with trust embedded so that the value of sharing information and assisting others with their material handling and supply chain issues can be realized. The opportunities for MHI members to elevate their industry and for equipment and services users to locate and act on relevant information are significant.
Most of us tend to think about collaboration as that which occurs within the walls of our own organizations. As a veteran of several corporate settings, from large to quite large to very small, I am well aware of the energy spent organizing into teams and developing relationships with other departments and functions so as to find a way through the myriad projects that pop up. The business bookshelves are filled with examples of schemes and methods for finding ways to work together within an organization. If we add a layer of complexity and suggest that one company collaborate with another, the task takes on a Herculean dimension that can easily set aside the motivations and energy of even the most diligent.
By Matthew Smurr