Dr. Maria Jesus Saenz, Dr. Elena Revilla, and Dr. Inma Borrella

Digital technologies are allowing companies to share supply chain information and assets in new ways. For example, it is making it possible for companies to share warehouse space and trucking capacity. But these new opportunities will require managers responsible for developing supply chain relationships to facilitate collaboration, experimentation, and trust across organizational boundaries.

Companies will need to change the way they forge and manage relationships with other entities in the supply chain to facilitate new types of alliances and agreements. It will require managers responsible for developing supply chain relationships, such as account managers or supply managers, to adopt a boundary-spanning mindset in order to facilitate collaboration, experimentation, and trust across organizational boundaries.

Boundary spanners will become essential change agents in the new era that digital transformation is making possible. Without them, companies will struggle to compete in the new world.

Check out our latest HBR article that presents the boundary-spanning mindset for collaboration, experimentation, and trust in the new era of digital transformation.