Analyst Insight: The critical value-add of a manufacturing supply chain comes from constantly asking, "Can we make what we sell and sell what we make?" This is sales and operations planning (S&OP): a process of constant vigilance to meet customer commitments, while optimizing scarce working capital. Supply-chain optimization efforts can benefit from approaching projects as a hybrid of S&OP and supply chain. This places the focus on value creation over functional excellence. - Jon Kirkegaard, President, DCRA Inc.

Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 12.4 percent in March as retailers begin to stock up for the spring and the summer season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Analyst Insight: Next-day delivery is the new normal. And fulfillment windows are compressing even further as companies like Amazon continue to raise customer expectations. But companies wrestle with what level of service makes sense, and how to justify investments. It's not about making every process in the DC faster. It's a delicate balance of revenue gains and improved customer service against investment and operating costs. - Helgi Thor Leja, Industrial & Electrical Industry Leader, Fortna Inc.

Analyst Insight: Tracking supply chain metrics can help organizations identify opportunities for quality and performance improvement. However, identification is half the battle; organizations must adopt practices that can lead to improvement. One of these practices is the development of close relationships with key suppliers and service providers. Through these relationships, organizations can realize improvements in both performance and quality. - Becky Partida, Research Specialist, APQC

SupplyChainBrain and JobsInLogistics have joined forces in 2014 for the specialized purpose of:

Analyst Insight: If 2012 was the year of climbing the emerging market mountain, then 2013 was the cliff. Not just for patents, but also in succeeding across multiple global markets. Quality issues, bad business practices, failure to integrate acquisitions, these were all common threads. Reputable players stumbled. Lesson learned: focusing on core business is the key to success. Many smaller non-core acquisitions such as animal health, devices, and OTC products will continue to spin off. Emerging and core markets will focus on profitability and smart growth, not just volume. - Brian Hudock, Partner, Tompkins International