It's the credit, stupid

The council on Supply Chain Management recently held their 2009 Conference in Chicago with the usual banter of efficient supply chains, "best in market," supply chain automation, make-to-stock approaches vs. make-to-order manufacturing, transportation decision support systems, etc. What was noticeably absent was any real discussion on credit in the supply chain. While activity to date has been centered on public/private partnerships, efforts to support trade are complicated by two facts: most trade credit is on the corporate's balance sheet or is financed by short-term debt, not specific bank trade lines; and the public relations around these public/private deals has gotten ahead of the ability to effectively execute and deploy this capital.