Operational excellence is about five things: driving innovation; managing talent; improving customer retention; ensuring strategy aligns with tactics; and determining optimal enterprise velocity.

Epicor Software Corp. has incorporated a number of new features into Epicor Vision, its business-management application for automotive aftermarket distributors and jobbers.

Infor has made generally available an updated middleware technology platform with social, mobile, analytical and cloud capabilities.

DHL Supply Chain is investing $11.3m in a new end-of-route shared user hub at Heathrow. Scheduled to open in early 2014, the facility will offer airlines a turnkey solution for end-of-route return catering requirements on long haul flights.

As private equity has expanded over the last 20 years, being able to make a profit from companies has become more difficult. Gone are the days when a good purchase price, a touch of financial engineering and finding a bigger buyer were all it took to make a profit.

Damco has opened a second CFS warehouse facility in Cambodia, in a bid to further enhance and support its customers' growth in Cambodia's emerging markets.

The days of selling within seasons are long gone; sales periods that once spanned months have now shrunk to weeks. This "multiplier" effect presents retailers with huge challenges, because shoppers want the latest, most fashionable products immediately.

A new survey by researchers at the University of Arkansas indicates that the healthcare industry's supply chain lags behind the retail industry supply chain and could benefit significantly from adopting several of retail's best practices.

WaveMark, active in "Real-Time Healthcare Supply Chain Innovation", has introduced the latest release of its RFID- and barcode-enabled mobility application, SalesView, for medical device suppliers.

The food supply chain has been a hot topic recently, with the horsemeat scandal creating a whirlwind of interest in an area which before had ticked along without very much attention at all.