Pay for performance, not parts or service transactions. That's the key to "performance-based logistics" (PBL), a new approach to managing outsourcing relationships. The U.S. Department of Defense, for one, sees PBL as the wave of the future and has made it the preferred approach for managing its service providers.

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) is launching a new workshop, "Performance-Based Logistics for Outsourced Supply Chain Operations," which will help participants better understand how they can apply PBL to their own outsourced operations. Instructors Kate Vitasek of the consulting firm Supply Chain Visions and Karl Manrodt of Georgia Southern University will walk attendees through the key attributes of a good PBL contract and the steps for implementation. The one-day course will be offered on May 19 and Aug. 13 at CSCMP's offices in Lombard, Ill. For more information, visit cscmp.org and click on "Program & Events."