The major expansion of internet retailing is expected to be the biggest driver of activity in the European logistics market - and the need for distribution space - in the coming three years, according to a survey conducted by global real estate advisor CBRE.

Electronics manufacturer Jabil has been applying radio frequency identification tags to some of the printed circuit boards assemblies (PCBAs) that it manufactures for Cisco Systems. As a result, according to B.J. Favaro, Cisco Systems' supply chain manager, and Bill Hajje, Jabil's global process manager, the firm has improved the efficiency of its production process by approximately 80 percent, benefiting both companies.

More than 60 percent of respondents to a recent Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium survey say manufacturing is still on the rise in China. The report, China Supply Chain Perspectives: Operations and Future Investments, reveals the results of a survey completed by nearly 100 North American supply chain executives across all major industry segments that have supply chain operations in China.

Kuehne + Nagel, the global provider of logistics services, has announced plans for a larger logistics center in Atlanta, Ga. With 211,000 square feet of space, the site will double Kuehne + Nagel's existing operation in the Atlanta area.

The tide has begun to turn on the flow of manufacturing jobs from the U.S. to China and other low-cost countries, according to a new study from The Hackett Group. Some companies are already reshoring a portion of their manufacturing capacity, and this trend is expected to reach a crucial tipping point over the next two to three years, as the total landed cost gap between the two nations continues to shrink, driven in part by rising wage inflation in China and continued productivity improvements in the U.S.

The key supply chain challenge today is the juxtaposition of complex and extended supply networks with increasingly fast and volatile demand networks - and the increasingly ineffective role for inventory as a way to buffer cadence mismatches.

In addition to technical and functional skills, supply chain managers need to hone their "soft" skills in areas like project management and change management, says Bill Seliger of R.R. Donnelly Logistics Services.

Why not use technology that locks out all but authorized users of forklifts and other vehicles in the DC and which measures the productivity of those vehicle and their operators, asks Ken Ehrman, president of I.D. Systems.

The number of "active, for-hire carriers" registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is 166,810, an increase of 8 percent, or 11,570 since February 2011, according to the State of the DOT report released by QualifiedCarriers.

Without a doubt, the economic downturn was difficult on everyone. Significant cutbacks in production left thousands of smaller suppliers struggling to remain in business. In the midst of this bleak scenario, some large manufacturing organizations have opted to share financial expertise, efficiency and lean manufacturing knowledge - and, in some cases, actual capital - with their smaller, highly valued suppliers to pull them from the brink.