From a technology perspective, the capabilities of drones are improving day by day - advancements in autonomous piloting, "sense and aware" technologies and increased battery life mean that delivery drones are now very much a potential for the future.

Since the changes in the freight broker bond requirements introduced by the MAP-21 legislation back in 2013, autumn has turned into the bond renewal season for the freight industry. In the next few months, about two thirds of the nearly 17,000 licensed freight brokers are expected to undergo the yearly surety bond renewal.

Sustainability is a huge macro trend and it's no surprise that the language and goals of the larger sustainability movement have made their way to apparel. Unfortunately, with it comes the same polarizing ambiguity that has plagued the broader sustainability movement in other industries. Cynics roll their eyes while dismissing sustainability as a latest marketing façade designed to push products on uninformed customers while true believers insist it's a more responsible way forward for apparel manufacturing that is genuinely improving lives and saving the earth.

Consumer-facing companies in developed economies have experienced little or no growth since the global recession of 2008 and 2009. As a result, CEOs, business unit leaders, chief marketing officers, and executive teams are looking outward, trying to spur growth by turning to new sources of customer information. These include "implicit" data such as biometrics, "structured" batches of big data such as online behavior, and "unstructured" data such as social media and call center conversations.