Roughly seven months into the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports slowdown with, unfortunately, no end in sight, and manufacturers in just about every industry, from electronics to home goods, are feeling the pain.

Lack of preparation leaves supply chains in Brazil, China, India and the United States more vulnerable to climate risks than those in Europe and Japan, according to research released by CDP and Accenture. However, suppliers in China and India deliver the greatest financial return on investment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate the strongest appetite for collaboration across the value chain.

We've heard it before: manufacturing is leaving China and coming back to the West. But the reality isn't that simple.

Companies are desperate for new talent to help them achieve supply-chain excellence, as they grapple with ever-larger volumes of data and increasing unpredictability in consumer markets. A SupplyChainBrain Roundtable discussion with Benji Green, director of global supply chain operations with Avaya; Trevor Miles, executive vice president of thought leadership with Kinaxis, and Roddy Martin, managing director of Accenture Supply Chain Strategies.

Three transportation industry groups, with support from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, have formed the National Operations Center of Excellence.

SupplyChainBrain and JobsInLogistics have joined forces in 2015 for the specialized purpose of:

Attacks against small tankers off South East Asia's coasts caused a rise in global ship hijackings, up to 21 in 2014 from 12 in 2013, despite piracy at sea falling to its lowest level in eight years, the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed. Pirates took 442 crew members hostage, compared with 304 in 2013.

Call it the dark side of international commerce: fakes, frauds and thought thieves. Time to take action.