China is transforming itself from a source of low-cost manufacturing for western consumers to a potentially huge market for domestic production. Ron Tarter, senior vice president and general manager of Flextronics, discusses how his company and others are adjusting to the shift.

CaroTrans, a non-vessel operating common carrier and ocean freight consolidator, has introduced four direct, less-than-containerload services from China to Valparaiso, Chile.

Professor Yossi Sheffi, director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, describes the development of logistics clusters and their considerable economic advantages, which include the creation of steady, well paying jobs for both blue- and white-collar workers.

As part of its Supplier Management program for global ocean and airfreight forwarding, UPS has introduced Order Watch, a cloud-based technology platform.

Vendormate, creator of a vendor-information network that brings together healthcare providers and suppliers, has developed a new online resource called Medzo.

India's business-process-outsourcing companies have a problem. The $50bn industry has enjoyed phenomenal growth: The top 20 BPO companies' employee base grew 12 percent in 2011, according to Dataquest, and the domestic market is expanding. Yet BPO companies are struggling to attract the right talent.

Exel has opened a 250,000-square-foot distribution center in Laredo, Tex., in support of the provider's "Logistics Without Borders" supply-chain service.

Schenker Limited, the U.K.-based arm of DB Schenker Logistics, has opened a new headquarters facility and airfreight hub at London's Heathrow Airport.

Inttra, developer of a multi-carrier network for managing ocean shipping, has released a Shipping Application Delivery Platform for integrating and deploying the vendor's applications from within existing logistics, transportation-management or enterprise resource planning systems.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. has formed a new division to offer logistics services to chemical manufacturers and distributors. Dubbed ChemSolutions, the unit can provide chemical bulk shipping, safety and sustainability, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, vendor and supplier compliance, global trade management and multimodal transportation.