ABSTRACT
Successful supply chain relationships depend on more than a carefully worded contract. Experience shows that the single biggest impediment to supply chain success is the lack of trust between parties. Trading partner relationships are formed when people decide to do business together and risk trusting each other. Often, the relationship begins between the most senior people at each company. Over time, these relationships expand to include more junior people involved in the collaborative change management that is necessary to build new supply chain network capability. This chapter describes different kinds of supply chain relationships and how to build trust across different business cultures, distance, and time zones.
