Factories don't just make things. Viewed properly, they are where the rubber of corporate strategy meets the road of the marketplace. Ideally, then, a factory should operate in alignment with competitive business priorities: in short, it should be focused. When a business tries to group too many different products, markets, and technologies into the same manufacturing facility, performance and productivity suffer.

Inevitable, irreversible and irresistible. That's how some environmental experts view the coming of "the low-carbon economy."

Automation is the buzzword of the moment when it comes to distribution. But many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) feel that automation is cost prohibitive - that it's something for the big guys. An investment in automation, however, doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition.

The potential of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics to perform tasks once reserved for humans is no longer reserved for spectacular demonstrations by the likes of IBM's Watson, Rethink Robotics' Baxter, DeepMind, or Google's driverless car.

For leaders in large corporations, business today often feels like being on a steep treadmill with the speed control set to max.

We hear a lot about how consumers' changing lifestyles and shopping habits are impacting retail supply chains in areas like demand planning and inventory management. Much less is said, however, regarding the impact of these trends at the very end of the supply chain, where professional drivers deliver the last mile.

Target has been revamping its grocery business and is seriously considering enlisting a third party to help solve supply chain issues.