A six-month consultation period is under way in which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will seek widespread input on the administrative burdens that may result from compliance with IMO instruments.

Managing inventory requires skillfully balancing a variety of complicated and competing objectives. Supply management professionals responsible for inventory have to control inventory holding costs, such as warehousing and financial opportunity costs, while pursuing cost savings that may be obtained with larger purchases. They also simultaneously support ambitious customer service levels for a constantly expanding product portfolio. Of course, supply managers who focus on inventory know these pressures well.

Two executives from industrial realty firm Jones Lang LaSalle discuss issues impacting retailer's distribution site selection decisions, including the growth of multi-channel distribution and rising transportation costs.