Manufacturers spend over 23 billion dollars of product revenue on warranty claims in the U.S. alone, and are relentlessly seeking ways to decrease these costs. A new report, IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warranty Analytics 2012 Vendor Assessment, examines the capabilities and strategies of key vendors of warranty analytics software. The study provides IT buyers and software vendors with a structured review of key market participants: Camstar Systems, Infernotions Technologies, Pegasystems, PTC (4CS), SAP, SAS, Teradata, We Predict, Ltd., and Ubiquiti.

It turns out that small- and medium-sized brick and mortar companies can use analytical tools just as the largest corporations can-or the hottest Web-based social media start-ups or the biggest intelligence agencies with three-letter names.

Advances in analytic technologies and business intelligence are allowing CIOs to go big, go fast, go deep, go cheap and go mobile with business data.

Rosslyn Analytics, a provider of business-intelligence software, has made available a new tool for conducting analyses of supplier risks. RA.Pid Supplier Risk Profile allows finance, procurement and supply-chain organizations to collaboratively evaluate, monitor and mitigate supplier-centric risks in real time in five business days, all from a single screen, the vendor claimed.

LeanLogistics, a vendor of transportation-management system (TMS) software, is releasing version 12.1.0. of its On-Demand TMS package.

When Amazon announced its $775m cash deal to buy Kiva, a robot automation fulfillment center player, it put many of its existing retail clients in a bind. This includes current Kiva clients - Walgreens and Saks, among others - plus other recent (and possibly current) customers, such as Gap, Crate & Barrel, Staples, Dillard's, Toys 'R' Us and Office Depot.

There has been a recent renewal of interest in collaboration among supply-chain partners, according to Ann Grackin, chief executive officer of ChainLink Research. Reasons include a greater reliance on outsourcing and the general trend of globalization of trade. Yet another element is the desire to draw on sophisticated technology, including video, teleconferencing and social networks, to link all players throughout the chain. With such factors in mind, says Grackin, "you need working relationships with trading partners to be successful."

Zonar Systems has added fuel as an additional dimension to its suite of tools for electronic fleet inspection, tracking and operations management. Up to now, Zonar's vehicle telematics platforms have utilized four dimensions - latitude, longitude, time and odometer - of global positioning system (GPS) reporting.

The worldwide supply chain planning (SCP) market is forecast to grow 44 percent over the next five years, representing a compound annual growth rate of 7.6 percent, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. With the global economic downturn now predominantly in the past, capital spending on information technology has rebounded vigorously. The SCP market has participated in this rebound, as suppliers have reported recent revenue growth rates well above the long-term trend.