Big data is the all the rage and getting tons of press as it has allowed manufacturers and supply chain executives to create new and compelling data-driven strategies that help them compete, innovate and capture wallet-share. Perhaps fueled in part by the likes of leading database vendors or system integrators (SIs) looking to cash in on high-dollar predictive analytic and scoring engagements, big data represents many things to many people, but one of the most pragmatic applications is mastering all the data elements used in a business infrastructure. The term commonly used for this process is master data management, or MDM.

Consumers remain smitten by luxury. Their urge to splurge was revealed in a 2013 study by The Boston Consulting Group, which found that consumers spent an annual aggregate amount of more than $1.8tr worldwide on items the respondents defined as luxuries.

The competitive pressure on members of the global electronics sector has never been greater. While electronics OEMs recognize that their supply chains represent a significant opportunity to gain efficiencies, reduce cost and boost market share, many struggle to take their supply chain process improvement efforts beyond the proverbial low-hanging fruit.

NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of organizations seeking to prevent dirty and dangerous shipbreaking practices worldwide, has published the complete list of ships that were dismantled around in the world in 2013. Of the 1213 large ocean-going vessels that were scrapped in 2013, 645 were sold to substandard beaching facilities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, says the group. Approximately 40 per cent of these ships were EU-owned.

In September 2013, SupplyChainBrain Managing Editor Bob Bowman published a blog post that addressed Bridging the Gap in Supply Chain Talent.