The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and SupplyChainBrain welcome your entries for the 10th annual Supply Chain Innovation Award (SCIA) competition. Submissions consist of a case study describing the supply chain innovation with award emphasis on innovation and measurable results. Finalists are asked to present their case study at the CSCMP Annual Global Conference.

This year is likely to mark a turning point for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union, with total employment expected to increase by 0.3 percent and value-added by 1 percent as compared to 2012. Preliminary forecasts expect the positive developments further accelerating in 2014. After five years of an uncertain economic environment, 2013 is expected to be the first year since 2008 with a combined increase in aggregated employment and value-added of the EU's SMEs.

Supply chain optimization is at the heart of a four-year plan by Kellogg's to save up to $475m a year by 2018. The company estimates that by the end of 2017, Project K will reduce the company's global workforce by about seven percent.

The Institute of Logistics and Supply Chain Management (ILSCM) has opened in Johannesburg with the aim to partner with industry and to improve the general caliber of those pursuing careers in logistics and supply chain and related disciplines.