Challenge: The sourcing team within a global marine engineering firm was challenged with standardizing its temporary personnel procurement process, specifically for crew staff for its fleet of 100 maritime vessels. As the team collected global requirements, it became clear that a number of factors would add complexity throughout the process, as there were 34 different staffing vendors with multiple compensation frameworks fulfilling the 46 crew positions utilized in 9 geographical regions.

Challenge: Kenco was operating 300,000 square feet in a 478,000 square-foot warehouse to service an industrial manufacturing client. The customer challenged Kenco to engineer a solution that consolidated product from another 350,000 square-foot distribution center into that space. This meant squeezing 650,000 square feet into a 478,000 square-foot space.

Challenge: A global manufacturer of construction equipment needed to reduce inventory holding costs and improve response times for spare part deliveries to customers.

Challenge: A leading manufacturer of home improvement and building products was operating across dozens of brands, in multiple of retailers across the globe. Their logistics network was being operated at an independent level per brand, leaving multiple opportunities for overlap and inefficiency. However, with such a level of complexity, they knew streamlining their network would be a challenge.

Big Heart Pet Brands is the parent company for many of the biggest selling pet foods, including Kibbles 'n Bits, Meow Mix, Milk Bone and 9Lives. Ryan Dimond, manager of supply chain optimization, discusses how Big Heart uses supply chain design to support its many brands and employs supply chain modeling to make better decisions.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, a provider of services to manufacturers of cars, trucks, heavy equipment and specialized cargo, has opened a new office in Yangon, Myanmar.

As companies shift manufacturing back from Asia to the western hemisphere, they are increasingly looking at Mexico as an alternative for low-cost production. Matt Hamson, chief executive officer of Coronado Logistics Inc., outlines the country's pros and cons.