"For us patrol guys, it's just get in your car and we'll call if we need you, " Lee said of the chain of command.

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Back at Stanford, Hong Kong-schooled Hau Lee, a supply-chain expert will head the SEED effort.

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"We are providing a platform for business leaders and others concerned with the environment and corporate social responsibility to work together toward the common goal of ensuring the availability of natural resources, supporting social reforms, and at the same time securing the efficient delivery of supplies, " said Hau Lee, co-director of the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum.

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But Mr Lee and his colleagues are already concentrating on the ultimate prize of supply-chain integration: ways of constantly monitoring and improving the whole system by using all the available data.

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On July 20, 2009, Chu set up a call with Tony Langoria, a supply chain manager for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), to speak directly with Lee.

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