In the past, when employees at T-Mobile Austria's stores began each work day, one of the first tasks performed involved updating prices and other product details. Workers printed and cut out paper labels, both before store hours and again during lunch breaks. Thanks to the installation of RFID-based electronic shelf labels from ZBD Solutions, the staff has reduced that labor time by approximately 40 percent.

Accellos Inc., a vendor of supply-chain execution software, has developed version 6.4 of the AccellosOne Warehouse Management System (WMS).

A new wave of robots, far more adept than those now commonly used by automakers and other heavy manufacturers, are replacing workers around the world in both manufacturing and distribution. Such factories are a striking counterpoint to those used by Apple and other consumer electronics giants, which employ hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers.

In the mid-2000s there was a beginning of public discussions and a surge in market awareness about support and maintenance (S&M) alternatives for users of enterprise applications. Companies in the market for enterprise software S&M services, like nearly every other market in the world, have responded to monopolistic-like pricing and profit margins by seeking choice. Enterprise software licensees now have a choice of annual support providers.

While computer hackers and data thieves are always improving, developing ever-more sophisticated ways to to breach corporate security systems, businesses have been falling behind in the measures they're taking to protect themselves, a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report asserts. C-suite executives, the aren't taking enough personal responsibility for mitigating organizational risk due to mobile computing and employees using their personal devices at work.

RedPrairie Corp. has acquired Vortex Connect, a vendor of mobile workforce management technology.

China's retailers, already struggling because of an economic slowdown, got another jolt of bad news when Wal-Mart Stores announced recently it had finally received Chinese government approval for a proposal to buy a majority stake in Yihaodian, a Shanghai company that is a leader in the country's booming online retail industry.

Motorola Solutions has introduced a vehicle-mount mobile computer for use in warehouse and distribution environments.

LeanLogistics, a provider of transportation-management systems, has developed a mechanism for delivering TMS applications to the mid-market.

Making the business case for an accounting or HR system is clear-cut: Avoid unnecessary costs, manage cash better, reduce risk and you're done. If you were to invest twice as much in one of those systems, you might increase business payoff by 20 percent, so you can find the optimization point for ROI in a single spreadsheet. But what about the customer relationship management system?