Why Business Matchmaking Beats Supply Chain Consulting

And How Tompkins Ventures Has Built a Better Business Ecosystem

Five decades of leading innovation in supply chain consulting led me to a perfectly logical conclusion: The world needed innovation in business matchmaking.

That might be a broad leap, but let me explain.

First, today’s business challenges are too broad and complex for any single company to solve alone. Second, as I’ve explained before, traditional business models, including supply chain consulting, are broken.

In fact, few businesses really need consultants. They need solutions. Since I launched Tompkins Ventures in 2020, I think one in 10 clients have required supply chain consultants.

The vast majority simply needed to connect to the right technology partner, logistics provider, investment firm or subject matter expert who could deliver the exact capability they were missing.

Why Orchestration, Not Ownership, Defines Success Today

The era of trying to be the best at everything is over. So is the era of outsourcing thinking to high-priced consultants.

The new business matchmaking model thrives on collaboration, specialization and strategic partnerships.

In the past, companies built internal capabilities across every function – supply chain, procurement, digital transformation, organizational development, finance, etc. This well-intentioned model often diluted expertise, slowed execution and missed opportunities.

The other option involved hiring large consulting firms that claimed to be all things to all people. They deployed armies of employees across lavish global offices. These massive overheads and underutilized staff inflated their costs.

Yet behind that scale are serious blind spots. After all, many of their front-line personnel are freshly minted MBAs, not grizzled supply chain consultants who can go beyond spreadsheets. And even the biggest players face critical gaps in their expertise that limit their real impact.

But today’s pace of innovation, complexity of global markets and need for optionality have rendered both models obsolete.

These challenges call for a new paradigm: ecosystem orchestration.

As a business-to-business matchmaker, my role is no longer to provide all the answers. Instead, I should connect the right questions with the right experts – curating a team of best-in-class specialists who, together, deliver phenomenal results. I need to deliver a business ecosystem.

As Eileen Bistrisky supposedly said, “Great leaders are not the best at everything. They find people who are the best at different things and get them all on the same team.”

Why do I say “supposedly”? Because despite a lot of online research, I can’t find an original source, even in Bistrisky’s writings and speeches. That reminds me of another great quote from Abraham Lincoln: “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet”!

Nevertheless, this quote truly grasps the heart of what business matchmaking really means.

The Future Belongs to Ecosystems, Not Empires

In a business ecosystem, every partner brings deep expertise – not diluted knowledge. That depth creates innovation, speed and agility. Internal teams rarely can match those results. Neither can external consultants.

By plugging clients into the Tompkins Ventures network, we help them access world-class specialists who are ready to deliver from day one. No learning curve, no ramp-up time, no endless presentations. Just real results.

Think about the benefits:

Depth Over Breadth

Internal teams often stretch themselves thin, trying to cover too much ground. Ecosystems allow each expert to go deep in their domain – whether it’s AI-driven procurement, last-mile logistics or capital structuring.

Each specialist brings cutting-edge insights and execution to the table.

Speed and Agility

Matchmaking accelerates outcomes. Instead of waiting for internal teams to ramp up or retrain, we plug in proven experts who are ready to deliver from day one. This reduces time-to-value and increases responsiveness to market shifts.

Innovation Through Diversity

Ecosystems bring together diverse perspectives, methodologies and experiences. A robotics innovator from Singapore, a software developer from Poland and a logistics provider from Texas might approach the same challenge differently.

And that cross-pollination sparks breakthroughs that siloed teams often struggle to achieve.

Scalability Without Overhead

Building internal capabilities across every function is costly and inefficient. The Tompkins Ventures business matchmaking model scales up or down based on client needs, without the burden of fixed overhead or long-term commitments.

No overhead. No bureaucracy. Just adaptability.

Accountability and Results

Tompkins Ventures selects each expert in our ecosystem based not just on credentials, but on their track record of delivering measurable impact.

We don’t just connect people. We build meaningful connections. And then we manage performance, ensuring alignment with client goals every step of the way.

Yes, Wisdom Still Beats the Machine

Yes, I know business matchmaking isn’t new. And supply chain consulting is decades old. But most of what’s out there isn’t what companies actually need.

Some matchmaking platforms are just glorified databases. You plug in corporate information and an algorithm spits out “matches.” Others focus on networking, events and introductions that rarely translate into execution.

Artificial intelligence has its place. But you need something beyond a mobile app and matchmaking software. Real life has no substitute for human beings who actually know what a company can deliver. Because our partners have seen it, worked with it and verified those capabilities.

We didn’t build the Tompkins Ventures network on algorithms. We built it on relationships. Our team and partners have spent decades learning which companies truly excel, where their strengths lie and how they can best collaborate to solve a client’s problem.

Programmers can’t code that kind of wisdom. And generative AI can’t scrape it off the internet, either.

Business Matchmaking Runs on a Different Currency

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal ran a story about a venture capitalist named Katerina Stroponiati who bets on founders in their 50s and beyond. Her reasoning?

She says older founders have something rare: connections, credibility, industry experience, domain expertise and relationships that take decades to build. They’ve seen what works – and what doesn’t.

Her most powerful line stuck with me:

“The new skills are going to be clarity, deep knowledge and how we communicate with machines and our team members. As we get older, we get better at these skills.”

Like, Bistrisky, Stroponiati perfectly captures the spirit behind Tompkins Ventures. Tompkins Ventures’ partners have spent decades leading teams, solving complex challenges and learning the nuances of industries.

Wisdom is the new currency. And that wisdom, born of experience, is why our business ecosystem beats supply chain consulting any day.

We don’t just connect companies. We connect clarity with execution and match deep knowledge with practical solutions.

Business Matchmaking Blends Humility, Confidence, Vision

This model demands a new kind of leadership. One where connect and catalyze have replaced command and control.

Insightful leaders today have the humility to admit what we don’t know, the confidence to find someone who does and the vision to bring them together.

Success in our world of perpetual disruption doesn’t mean owning every capability. Success requires orchestrating the best capabilities – wherever they are.

Truly, the future belongs to those who can orchestrate excellence across boundaries.

By embracing the power of business matchmaking and building vibrant ecosystems of collaboration, we’re not just solving problems. We’re rewriting what’s possible.

That’s the vision behind Tompkins Ventures – and the future I’m committed to building.

Related Reading

• 5 Things that Make A Great Business Partnership
• The Tompkins Ventures ReGlobalization Process
• Business Intelligence That Sees What’s Next