The notion of lean supply chains remains relevant even though the concept has been around for years. Like individuals in their battles of the bulge, enterprises face a never-ending fight against bloated processes and excessive inventory.

Despite lingering concerns over standards, reliability and cost, Wal-Mart, DOD and other major retailers are pushing ahead on first-stage mandates that will eventually lead to RFID-enabled supply chains.

An elite group of just 25 3PLs increasingly dominate logistics outsourcing around the world, and that is just how their customers like it. This closed club promises to become even more exclusive in the years ahead as acquisitions concentrate the power among fewer but larger 3PLs.

Despite the obvious differences between software developers and the customers they serve, fundamentally they too are running businesses. Quite aside from the 'winning' qualities of their products, these companies need sound business practices to ensure profitability quarter after quarter.

Thousands of hours and millions of dollars are spent each year by retailers and CPG companies to resolve conflicts and discrepancies caused by mis-matched and out-of-date item data. Now, all that is about to change.

With economic activity heating up, businesses are again eager to compete in the global arena. To do so, they need to raise the performance of their supply chains to world-class levels.

Relying in part on point-of-sale data, this software improves merchandise assortment, boosts total sales and helps increase average selling prices.