Companies achieved impressive financial success attributable to their e-commerce implementations, according to a Forrester Consulting study commissioned by EPiServer, a software provider for digital marketing solutions.

You don't have to look too far, or listen too intently, to detect signs of digital disruption these days. We're in the midst of a veritable eruption of disruption, taking place across the business landscape and radically reshaping everything from customer interactions to internal processes to extended supply chains. Needless to say, it's far better to be the disrupter than one of the rudely disrupted.

Finding potential leaders among supply chain employees begins with treating everyone fairly, not equally, says Gough Grubbs, senior vice president of Stage Stores. Not everyone has the desire or drive for leadership and recognizing those who do is the first step toward success, he says.

Throughout the logistics industry, food is one of the most demanding goods moved around the world. Statistics also show that it is also one of the most disposed products worldwide in relation to the produced quantity with 30 to 50 percent of food going to waste. The highest portion is on the consumers' side. But In the supply chain, a non-stop cold chain monitoring is the major instrument for food staying fresh and not rotting ahead of time. There are already several solutions in the field to collect data to monitor the cold chain. But most of these solutions are costly to install and to maintain and therefore only suitable for high-priced products such as pharmaceuticals. Wireless sensors that use the energy harvesting principle now overcome these challenges and open the door for a complete traceability of food at affordable costs.

Daimler Trucks North America committed to lean management in 2012 and its seven parts distribution centers are full participants in that initiative. Carlos Billingsley, director of operations at the parts DCs, explains how the lean program has created a culture of continuous improvement.

ROI was founded 15 years ago to help Mercy Health Systems reduce overall supply chain expenses and improve patient care. Greg Goddard, project director for supply chain operations, discusses ROI's business model and how changes in U.S. healthcare are impacting the supply chain.