This spring, President Obama said he had "good news" to report: Lost American jobs are returning to the U.S. "For a lot of businesses, it's now starting to make sense to bring jobs back home." In trumpeting this "reshoring" of jobs from abroad, the administration points to employers, including General Electric and Caterpillar, that have shifted some manufacturing to the U.S. The president also cited an April online survey by Boston Consulting Group showing that 37 percent of manufacturers with sales of more than $1bn and almost half of those with more than $10bn "plan to or are actively considering bringing back production from China to the U.S." Yet there's little data to back up claims of a reshoring rush.

RedPrairie Corp. has released version 2012.1 of the RedPrairie Commerce Suite for retailers. The tool can be applied to all channels and multiple customer touch-points, the vendor said.

Good artists copy, but does the saying apply to retailers too? Best Buy hopes so, as it's converting 60 of its locations into Apple Store lookalikes, according to a new report.

Because the DC is an expensive - but indispensable item - the CEO needs to be on top of operations that fulfill directly to customers' homes, says Matt Kulp, director, distribution and fulfillment, St. Onge Company, an engineering services company.

The Consumer Goods Forum, an industry association of retailers, manufacturers and service providers, welcomes the announcement by the U.S. government at the Rio Plus 20 Conference to "forge a private-public partnership to support a concerted international effort to reduce deforestation by promoting sustainable supply chains."

Zenith Global Logistics, a logistics service provider specializing in home furnishings, has opened a "White Glove" home-delivery hub in Louisville, Ky. The facility supports both brick-and-mortar and e-retailers seeking service for the final mile of order fulfillment.

China's retail sales growth slowed to 13.8 percent in May, down from the 16-0percent to 18-percent annual growth analysts have grown accustomed to. Many analysts are panicking, saying the data indicate the end of the Chinese consumption story. These fears are overblown.

The confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences has the potential to create a long-term disruption across the food-industry value chain that transforms where and how consumers shop for groceries as well as what products they choose.

How much is that doggie in the window? For internet users, the answer may soon be, "It depends on who you are, and how much I know about you." And this trend may upset a host of laws concerning deceptive trade practices, fair pricing and even contract, trespass and computer crime laws.

Technology and infrastructure investments will account for 50 percent of Pier 1 Imports' $70m to $75m in planned capital expenditures this year, but the retailer will have a lot of IT-enabled activity to show for its money. Two of the biggest elements are the July 28 launch of Pier 1's new e-commerce site and the planned rollout of its new POS system beginning this fall.