"Thinking like a big company," the maker of specialty outdoor equipment makes the jump from outmoded information technology systems to demand-driven manufacturing.

Great vision inspires great effort, sometimes turning the improbable into life-changing reality. This is the story of one man's desire to bring reliable and inexpensive phone service to the people of India and the supply-chain effort that helped make it happen.

Rapid growth, Y2K issues and the need to better control and trace inventory all led salad dressing manufacturer Naturally Fresh to implement an enterprise system that included robust supply-chain capabilities.

Hollywood studios know that box-office receipts are greatest in the first weeks of a film's release, and the same is true for their video sales divisions. MGM Home Entertainment's VMI initiative ensure that its retailers are stocked (and replenished) with the latest videos.

Straightline Source is defying the e-business odds and growing legs as a virtual distributor of carbon and flat-rolled steel. Technology enabling order efficiency and waste reduction is part of the reason.

Customization is the centerpiece of a strategy that wakes up the big golf supplier and propels it ahead of the competition in terms of agility and innovation.

With industry giants invading the product niche that it created, the beverage maker turned to logistics outsourcing as a means to achieve a higher level of customer service, cost control and data integrity. Its attention now is focused on innovation and flavors.