More and more companies are choosing to invest in green building practices, enjoying quick returns on investments that pay off in profit and public opinion. And the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Certification Program is allowing companies to make their newer, greener policies official.

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about the continuing efforts of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to reduce, if not eliminate, the use of independent owner-operators in port drayage operations. But that's just one of several major issues affecting truckers today. Here are some more:

Over the next three years, manufacturers increasingly plan to use service as a competitive differentiator and aim to grow business through product service innovation and value-added services for existing products, according to Business Strategy: Modernizing the Service Chain with Smart Technology, a report from IDC Manufacturing Insights.

When it comes to e-commerce, competing with Amazon is the name of the game, says Ian Hobkirk, managing director of Commonwealth Supply Chain Advisors. Here, he shares his views on the degree of the difficulty of taking on the e-tailing giant and on the future of online commerce in general.

As the global economic landscape evolves and shifts, companies seek out new sourcing locations and growth opportunities in worldwide markets. Global expansion brings about new supply chain challenges and complexity that can vary by market and country. In North America, companies are looking for closer sourcing locations, greater efficiency, and opportunities to grow their export business. Latin America, due to its proximity, emerging market growth, and attractive free-trade agreements (FTA), as well as preferential agreements with the U.S. has made it a desirable trade region.

The CO3 Project is an initiative funded by the European Commission to develop and roll out tools and standards that will help shippers and logistics providers identify opportunities to co-load, share capacity and shift freight from road to rail. Giventis International provides the technology platform for this project.