A crisis is a wonderful opportunity to overhaul inadequate or ineffective business processes and systems. We have seen examples where adverse events have led to improvements in everything from the way in which we obtain a credit card to the security practices at schools and public buildings. The furor that started last month over the discovery of horse and pig DNA in products labeled as "containing beef" in the European food supply chain is gathering as much speed, momentum and breadth as the proverbial snowball rolling downhill. Smart supply chain practitioners and companies will harness this energy to implement changes that will ensure a safer food supply.

Regardless of the goods that are being shipped - from electronics to pharmaceuticals to fruit - once released into the supply chain, they are immediately at risk. And the longer they are in transit, the more vulnerable those goods become - facing threats of terrorism, of theft, or even of a natural disaster. Until the cargo arrives safely at its final destination, there are an inordinate number of things that could jeopardize the supply chain from running smoothly.

Congress and the Administration do not understand the relationship between the U.S. merchant fleet, the military and trade. This lack of understanding has created haphazard policies that are gutting the fleet and inhibiting the private sector's ability to recapitalize our aging maritime industry. The time for action is now. Congress and the Administration are considering budget proposals that, if unopposed, would destroy the U.S. maritime industry and hand over our maritime supremacy to foreign carriers.

Take a close look at any supply chain - even a single entity within it - and you're likely to uncover a hodgepodge of disciplines, each with its own method for forecasting demand, and each convinced of its superiority over everyone else's. So it only makes sense that companies would dream of coming up with a single forecast upon which all departments could agree.

Supply chain managers fight a tough battle in trying to meet management demands to decrease costs while creating efficiencies and implementing sustainability measures. Economic growth has improved but lacks the stability to provide companies comfort to budget for implementation of many of the innovations in their long- or short-term plan. However, companies can stagnate without taking the time to identify opportunities to innovate. With pressure to sustain its competitive edge, leading organizations are beginning to consider their reverse supply chain to find hidden value.