Recent research shows 80 percent of the consumer goods companies surveyed have a formal sales and operations planning (S&OP) process in place, yet more than half rely on spreadsheets while another 26 percent stated they either utilize a homegrown solution or their ERP system.

The RFID market will increase from $6.98bn in 2012 to $7.88bn, and will reach $23.4bn in 2020, according to a RFID sector survey by IDTechEx Research.

ABI Research forecasts that the M2M analytics industry will grow a robust 53.1% over the next 5 years from $1.9bn in 2013 to $14.3bn in 2018. The forecast includes revenue segmentation for the five components that together enable analytics to be used in M2M services: data integration, data storage, core analytics, data presentation, and associated professional services.

Staples, reportedly the world's second-largest internet retailer, has completed the acquisition of Runa, a California software company that helps online retailers increase sales by personalizing the shopping experience.

When 3D printing allows anyone to scan an object and create it, the concept of intellectual property and trademarks will increasingly become irrelevant.

You know all that CRM data you've been so lovingly collecting from loyalty programs, special offers, POS systems and any other way you could find to gather shopper information? It's about to be put at risk by a data broker - and not in the way you expected.

Offering customers free same-day delivery has long been an elusive goal for e-tailers. Their motivation is simple: If e-tailers can give customers the near-instant gratification of buying in a store, they can eliminate one of the most powerful advantages held by their bricks-and-mortar competitors. Alas, costs and complexity have largely kept same-day delivery (defined here as delivery between sunup and sundown on a weekday) out of reach and, at best, a niche offering.