Supply chains are built on partner and supplier relationships, but often these relationships are not as strategic as they perhaps should be. Typically, companies have large numbers of suppliers and hundreds of line items that they source so manual selection of suppliers for each line item is practically impossible. Rather than continually reassessing and optimizing supplier arrangements in an effort to ensure ongoing best value, many companies slip into a pattern of relying habitually on the same limited group of supply chain partners. This “unconscious bias” toward certain suppliers can cause…