Organizations need an agile supply network to be able to respond to unplanned events and continuing market volatility, says Jake Barr, CEO of BlueWorld Consulting. Barr explains what an agile supply network encompasses and outlines steps that companies can take to build agility into their supply chains.

Trevor Schick, senior vice president for the global supply chain enterprise group at Hewlett-Packard, explains the importance and challenges involved in eliminating "conflict minerals" from the supply chain and HP's commitment to this goal.

Supply chain performance has a big impact on consumers' perception of a company and its brand, says Bill Tomasi of IBS. He suggests that companies need to more actively incorporate SCM into their brand protection strategies.

Companies continue to lose money by shipping air as a result of packaging that doesn't fit the product, says Tom Blanck, leader of the packaging optimization practice at Chainalytics. Blanck discusses optimization techniques that can save money and improve productivity.

JDA Software recently formed a new global 3PL business unit to focus on sales and product development for this market sector. Unit leader Peter van Merode discusses the strategy behind this move and shares views on the global 3PL market.