It's no secret that Amazon is the greatest disruptor in the history of retail. The question is, how can traditional retailers, even very large ones, compete against a giant that can plow hundreds of millions into warehousing, order fulfillment and delivery? Customer satisfaction - and possibly the survival of many retailers - rides on the answer.

Broadly speaking, a labor management system, manages the labor force in a warehouse or distribution center. More specifically, it reports on the productivity level of an employee or group of workers in those facilities.

We're at the dawn of a promising new age of autonomous vehicles and connected devices for supply-chain management. And with that cutting-edge technology comes the heightened risk of cyberattack.

I have in front of me US Patent 9,624,034 B1, titled, Aquatic Storage Facilities. The applicant is Amazon Technologies, Inc., and the idea is to use either man-made pools or natural bodies of water to store goods while waiting for fulfillment orders.

There's a good chance something you've bought online has been in the hands of a "picker" first. These are the workers in warehouses who pick, pack and ship all those things we're ordering.