The condition of emerging-market economies seems to seesaw from week to week. But one thing remains constant: the failure of a lot of companies to shore up their supply chains in those countries with up-to-date information technology.

By now, all manufacturers are fully up to speed on the Securities & Exchange Commission's new rule about disclosing the presence of conflict minerals in their products ... aren't they?

Think of the typical corporate merger as the meeting of two ocean liners. It's tough enough to combine the crews. But how do you mash together two engine rooms?

Despite ongoing economic and business environment challenges, world-class procurement organizations continue to outperform the peer group by a wide margin, up to $6m in cost savings for the typical large company. They deliver services at 19 percent lower cost with greater effectiveness and require 27 percent fewer full-time-equivalents (FTEs) per $1bn in spend. For many, efficiency gains have reached their practical limits. What's next?

Labelmaster, a provider of materials for hazardous-materials transportation compliance, has released its 2015 A.I.R. Shipper publication.