The supply chain is getting greener and discussions about sustainability are cropping up in more calls and conferences than ever before. What this means for you is that the "green-ness" of your supply chain will soon be a deciding factor for your manufacturer and shipper partners as well as your other customers.

The procurement and fulfillment networks of global trading companies are becoming increasingly complex. Today it's not just multinational corporations who manage global supply chains - there are hardly any medium-sized businesses left, which don't have customers or suppliers in Asia, the U.S. and Latin America.

While many large companies are aggressively pursuing globalization of their products and brands, the large majority are flying blind, without the ability to truly see what is happening globally or make adjustments, according to new research from The Hackett Group Inc.

Companies today have more powerful supply chain visibility tools than ever. Solutions exists that leverage web technologies and allow various supply chain departments in an organization to get real-time and accurate information about inventory, orders and shipments in both their inbound and outbound networks.