Innovation of the Year: Smart packaging creates right size box for every item shipped from e-commerce centers Winner: Staples & Packsize International; Runner-Up: PepsiCo; Finalists: LMI, Motorola Solutions, Pa. Liquor Control Board, IBM

The importance of produce traceability has been made devastatingly clear in recent years by well publicized incidents of illness, and even death, due to contaminated lettuce, spinach, cantaloupes and more. While officials in such cases spend weeks tracing the contamination to its source, all growers, wholesalers and retailers suffer market consequences.

A short window to arrange transportation and warehousing threatened receipt of a donation of a million pairs of shoes, but the charity, Samaritan's Feet, found the right 3PL partner to make the operation work.

By leaving much of the management up to its many suppliers of wines and spirits and by postponing transfer of ownership, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board saves an estimated $100m.