Analyst Insight: With the consumer's hands firmly placed on the steering wheel, omnichannel retailing is driving the retail industry forward with record-breaking speed. Item-level RFID is fueling the journey by providing retailers with real-time inventory visibility, rich data insights, and a means for better trading partner collaboration - allowing for more efficient supply chain operations and ultimately, an enhanced customer experience. - Melanie Nuce, Vice President of Apparel and General Merchandise, GS1 US

The ocean shipping industry has traditionally used EDI for shipment tendering, booking and milestone tracking. A new solution has emerged that leverages near real time vessel tracking data to improve shipment planning and tracking.

Analyst Insight: The retail apparel market continues to lead the charge when it comes to deploying innovative technologies like RFID that allow for much higher inventory accuracy levels and can pave the way for omnichannel retail strategies. Both Inditex and H&M have made strong commitments to RFID technology, following in the footsteps of Macy's, long considered the leader when it comes to RFID and apparel. According to industry estimates, nearly 4 billion apparel items were tagged with RFID in 2015. - John Johnson, Senior Content Specialist, Gartner Supply Chain

As a vital part of the supply chain, today's warehouses need to be efficient, tightly integrated profit centers. Making this happen relies on the warehouse employees' efficiency as they go about shipping and receiving, fulfilling and picking orders, and doing inventory. All these functions rely on warehouse computer terminals that are designed for the job they are doing, whether that's a computer mounted on a forklift or a handheld tablet device. The problem is, sometimes the design of these terminals prevents workers from operating as efficiently as they otherwise could.

Mobile is driving the shopping experience both in stores and online. Roughly 73 percent of all online buyers are using a mobile device to shop online, and 21 percent are using mobile devices to help them shop in stores, according to Bizrate Insights, a division of Connexity.

PAL Robotics plans to launch its first large-scale pilot of its motorized RFID-reading robot in Europe during the second half of this year. The newest version of the Spanish company's StockBot will be tested for its ability to read the RFID tags attached to products, while software will identify where those tagged items are located within stores.