Collaboration in logistics and supply chain management

We all are on a path of evolution. We evolve, systems evolve, technology evolves… everything evolves.
We were discussing in supply chain management, how cost can be reduced, how inventory is managed and how transport can be efficiently managed. The part which attracted me to write that here is ‘collaboration’ amongst distributors, suppliers, transporters and businesses. Resources are pooled and thus efficiencies are improved by collective transportation.
Our professor suggested to us that until two decade back organizations used to have many suppliers in their procurement database. Reason – companies were Price sensitive. Slowly companies switched/switching to single or less suppliers. Even the quality management of supplied material is also moved to the supplier. I think that is called supplier development (evolution of suppliers). The reason to do this is supplier and the manufacturer is working in unison and both have incentive – growth. I reflected on the concept of interdependent co-arising, together everyone grows. When the costs are controlled with better quality, this could be transferred to the customers, and companies can become more competitive. Further, this process helps everyone – supplier gets business (helps his employees), companies get better cost control (more profit) and customer gets quality at economic pricing.
This blog is going through its third update. There were few examples I missed earlier. I found in my diary one was – a manufacturing company started buying steel from the steel companies not only for itself but also for its suppliers. This gave the company – good quality and competitive pricing because of volume buying. We have evolved and so the businesses consider suppliers as partners in business. Therefore, businesses partner with supplier and rely on them.
I was asked by someone; prove this in practical life that businesses are using Buddhists concepts. I said many times businesses are using that, however unknowingly. This idea was again a concept of interdependent co-arising.