Even in this (relatively) new century, someone fueled by an abundance of high-test eggnog will attempt to sing the traditional New Year's Eve hymn Auld Lang Syne at roughly midnight on December 31st.  Translated, the phrase means - more or less - days gone by ("old long since").

The advent of a new year is generally a time of introspection and reflection as prelude to setting out objectives and new directions for individuals and organizations.  If you're in that mode, business-wise - and I hope you are - here are a few perhaps-relevant questions as you look back on the year gone by:

• Have your dealings with key customers been as positive and encouraging as you'd hoped, considering the economic challenges we've all been facing?
• Have your key suppliers helped you develop creative and value-adding solutions to build up your positions with important customers and in target markets?
• Are your other supply chain partners - 3PLs, IT and MH suppliers, business consultants - part of your team in creating new value propositions for you to take to market?
• if "yes" to all of the above, how do you plan to continue to excell in the emerging economic recovery?
• If "no" to any of them, what are you going to do to change things?

Reality check: Simply swapping out new relationships for old isn't really a solution all by itself.  The real questions are how you are going to identify the right partners, build the right kinds of relationships, and then deliver results out of the new equations.

The crux of the issue?  Will the coming year be more of the same auld, same auld?  Or, will it be a new way of doing business with new kinds of business relationships?