David Tu, president of DCL, looks at the tremendous pressures that logistics providers and their customers are facing, as they balance traditional distribution and direct-to-consumer services.

Laurel Junk, vice president of supply chain with Kaiser Permanente, details the transformation that's under way in the hospital industry, driven by healthcare reform and a new focus on the ultimate "customer" - the patient.

Jim Burleigh, chief executive officer of SmartTurn, talks about the challenges faced by small and medium-sized companies in a time of tight budgets, slow demand and stricter government regulations.

Those specialized sectors, with their need for strict regulatory compliance and product control, have lagged other industries in the use of third-party service providers. But the picture is beginning to change, says Angela Watson, UPS's vice president of enterprise sales for the healthcare sector.

Rod Derifield, chief executive officer of Envirocooler LLC, outlines some of the new ideas and technology that providers are deploying to boost efficiencies in the movement of temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals.