Two capabilities are helping manufacturers and retailers of brand-name consumer goods improve replenishment at the floor and shelf levels, says Kelly Thomas, senior vice president of product strategy and planning at i2 Technologies. These capabilities are the ability to operationally apply insights from demand signals and to collaboratively align measurements.

Raise fuel taxes to fund needed highway investments and honor the NAFTA provisions allowing Mexican trucking companies to operate in the U.S. Those are two of the straightforward opinions offered by Transplace CEO Tom Sanderson during a wide-ranging conversation on issues impacting the trucking industry.

Transportation and logistics companies need to be highly sensitive to customers' needs as the economy sags, says John J. Hill, executive vice president of Pilot Freight Services. And just what are cash-conscious customers looking for in logistics providers?

John Caltagirone, vice president of supply chain strategy with The Revere Group, traces some of the major challenges that companies face as they prepare - or fail to prepare - for a resurgence in economic activity and customer demand.

Onboard systems for commercial trucks have evolved from "black boxes" monitoring driver behavior into sophisticated systems that enable the real-time flow of critical data on shipment status, security and safety throughout the organization, says Frank Moreno, vice president of marketing with Cadec Technologies.