For a limited time, JDA Software Group is offering Supply Chain For Dummies, available as a free download from its web site.

Once you have your lean journey underway, how do you sustain it? How do you build it into the bricks and mortar, and the DNA, of the organization? We no longer want lean to be its own thing; we want it integrated into the organization.

Lean is a never-ending process, says Mike Buseman, chief global logistics and operations officer with Avnet Inc. He explains how the company operates in a state of continuous improvement.

Logility Inc., a supplier of advanced retail planning and supply chain optimization solutions, has released Logility Voyager Retail Optimization V5.4. This latest release extends the value of an integrated retail and supply chain platform and delivers new merchandise planning views, extended allocation functionality and robust assortment planning capabilities, says Mike Edenfield, president and CEO of Logility.

In recent decades, companies in sectors from automotive and high-tech to retail and consumer packaged goods have come to realize that their supply chain is much more than the cost of getting products into customers' hands. These companies understand that it is the supply chain that translates corporate strategy into day-to-day interactions both within and beyond the organization. Ultimately, it is the supply chain that satisfies or disappoints their customers.

Across almost all sectors and regions, companies face unprecedented disruption. The competitive advantages that once gave companies a defensible position - their product lineup, scale or legacy position - are no longer as secure as they were. Some upstart with a newer and more agile operating model will start taking market share - if it hasn't already.