Integrating supply chain planning and execution is vital to today's businesses, but 80 percent of the data that most companies need to achieve this integration lies outside their four walls. Mark Cosway, vice president of industry sales at GT Nexus, explains a new approach to solving this problem.

It's a military truism that amateurs talk strategy while professionals study logistics. Two engaging new World War II histories remind us why logistics matter more. In fact, in wartime, logistics eats strategy for lunch.

The notion of a "chief procurement officer" isn't new. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has had one since 1998, and the title can be found in any number of other government agencies and branches of the military. Private companies have embraced it as well, although the position hasn't enjoyed a solid footing in most C-suites for more than a decade or so. Maybe it was the success of companies like Apple, with its mastery of supply management, that convinced top executives of the need to elevate procurement to the highest levels of the organization.

Laura Dionne, director of worldwide operations, and J.P. Swanson, systems architect, at TriQuint Semiconductor, describe how the installation of RapidResponse from Kinaxis is helping the company transform operations planning and improve inventory control.

Will 2013 be the year of the manufacturing renaissance? Plenty of groups are hoping so. NAM issued its "manufacturing renaissance" strategy over a year ago. Willy Shih and Gary Pisano of the Harvard Business School, as well as Craig Giffi at Deloitte, are leading advocates for policies that will encourage manufacturing innovation on our shores. And Boston Consulting Group has issued a series of reports pointing to a steady rise in new investment in American manufacturing over the next five years.

After working from 2007 to 2011 to transform its own supply chain, Celestica took what it learned to the market, offering managed supply chain services that complement its contract manufacturing business. Erwin Hermans, vice president of supply chain solutions, explains Celestica's strategy.

LogicSource is partnering with Coupa Software to provide spend-management applications and services to customers.