While companies are looking to collaborate with a larger number of external partners, many fail to achieve this goal. The problem can be traced to the fact that executives have become overly dependent on new supply chain technologies which has resulted in overlooking the role that people play when launching a collaborative program. However, when employing just the opposite strategy, supply chain leaders have increased their productivity, improved concept-to-market-development times, and achieved high levels of customer satisfaction. This paper argues that people are just as important as having the right supply chain process or technology.