New Zealand agriculture technology company WaterForce is providing an Internet of Things-based water-management and irrigation system for New Zealand farms using sensor technology and software from Schneider Electric, built on a Microsoft Azure and Azure IoT technology platform. The technology, adopted this year by BlackHills Farm, has reduced water consumption by 30 percent, according to Schneider Electric.

In the battle of humans versus machine on the warehouse floor, some companies have found common ground.

The agrochemical giant was challenged by rapid growth, high service demands and the complexities of moving hazardous materials around the globe. Logistics outsourcing proved to be the answer.

The manufacturer of such name brands as NordicTrack and Pro-Form found that home delivery of its product line was too flabby. A more robust last-mile provider toned things up.

The growers' cooperative, a dominant processor and marketer of almonds and related products, seeks to reconfigure its forward distribution network, to reflect current and future demand from retailers.

Ameri-Green Automotive LLC buys and refurbishes all manner of used trucks and trailers at its facility in Georgia. It needed a skilled, reliable 3PL to arrange for movement of the equipment from locations throughout the U.S.

As U.K.-based television home shopping company experienced explosive growth, it needed to consolidate all electronic data interchange operations onto one platform and integrate with its back office.

Few family businesses last three generations, let alone four. Jamie Schweid, the fourth-generation CEO of Schweid & Sons, a Carlstadt, N.J., purveyor of hamburger meat, is one of the outliers.

The growth of digital business and the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to drive large investment in IT operations management (ITOM) through 2020, according to Gartner, Inc. A primary driver for organizations moving to ITOM open-source software (OSS) is lower cost of ownership.