A crisis is a wonderful opportunity to overhaul inadequate or ineffective business processes and systems. We have seen examples where adverse events have led to improvements in everything from the way in which we obtain a credit card to the security practices at schools and public buildings. The furor that started last month over the discovery of horse and pig DNA in products labeled as "containing beef" in the European food supply chain is gathering as much speed, momentum and breadth as the proverbial snowball rolling downhill. Smart supply chain practitioners and companies will harness this energy to implement changes that will ensure a safer food supply.

Canadian Tire will deploy at least 5,000 tablet devices to its core network of 490 stores beginning in May. The rollout follows fast on the debut of a digital content hub designed to improve both in-store and online shopping experiences at Canada's largest retailer.

"Multichannel" (or even better, "omnichannel") is something almost every self-respecting retailer wants to be. But most pure-play internet vendors resist the idea that actual stores, with their rents, payrolls and security cameras, ought to be one of those channels. The thought of having the same costs as bricks-and-mortar competitors "scares the living daylights out of me," says Charles Hunt, owner of Duvet and Pillow Warehouse, a fast-growing online retailer. Yet things are changing.

In 2013, IATA expects cargo demand to grow by 2.7 percent and cargo yields to be flat - an improvement over the last two years, which has seen cargo demand and yields decline.

As businesses and governments implement cost-cutting and other efficiencies to help them recover from the deep recession, now is the time to consider collaborative purchasing as both a short- and long-term strategy to cut costs.

Undoubtedly businesses need to guard their end products against counterfeiting to protect their profits, their brands, their customers, and the financial health of their businesses. But fighting counterfeits cannot be fully effective without guarding supply sources - the materials and components used to manufacture the end products.

According to figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, retail sales exceeded expectations despite headwinds caused by extreme weather in the Northeast and a continued adjustment to higher payroll taxes.