The issue of ethical sourcing is a point of contention among procurement and supply chain professionals. The general sentiment is that the balancing act of being globally competitive and remaining a genuine corporate citizen is getting harder and harder. This is especially true for the rag trade. Apparel companies are consistently faced with the challenge of reducing costs while upholding ethical labour practices within their supply chain. How procurement and supply chain professionals in the sector manage this plays an increasingly important role in protecting company margins, brand reputation and growth. So what are the issues and factors at play and how can the risks involved be managed?

The Affordable Care Act is having a huge impact on the healthcare industry. And supply-chain is at the leading edge of the transformation. Vance Moore, vice president of operations with Mercy, talks about how the discipline is helping healthcare providers to adapt.

Getting bad publicity, losing customers and being subject to criminal consequences are just a few of the risks an organization can face when its procurement professionals are unaware of constantly changing social responsibility concerns.

Bring-your-own-device has caught on, and for many it's a positive development. Security is a big issue for companies that follow the trend, though, and one way to ensure it is by having remote-wiping capability to invoke under certain sets of circumstances. The trouble is, many of the gadgets in use don't segregate business and personal data. That means when a phone or tablet is wiped, everything goes.

No ecommerce site is perfect, especially when it first goes live.

Thirty-seven percent of more than 5,000 respondents reported economic crime in their organizations, with the categories of bribery and corruption and cybercrime experiencing notable growth, according to PwC in its latest Global Economic Crime Survey.