Analyst Insight: Omnichannel customer expectations continue to drive complexity in inventory planning and management. Expectations for faster fulfillment and free shipping, coupled with pressure to minimize inventory carrying cost, are driving companies to rethink inventory strategies to profitably service customers and ensure inventory is deployed in the right quantities to the right place at exactly the right time. But omnichannel flows like ship-from-store and buy-online-pick-up in-store (BOPIS) are complicating things and creating a new threshold for inventory planning requirements. - George Swartz, vice president, Fortna Inc.

A U.S. tax overhaul proposed by Republican leaders in Congress would deepen divisions between big manufacturers like Boeing Co and the thousands of smaller companies that supply them, according to suppliers and tax and trade experts.

Vickers Engineering Inc. embodies the potential of American manufacturing. The New Troy, Mich., machining company supplies precision parts to clients including Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG , and exports to Mexico and Canada. Its staff has risen fivefold and average pay has doubled over the past decade, says Chief Executive Matt Tyler.

Analyst Insight: Relatively flat growth over the past several years coupled with margin erosion and heavy M&A activity in the industry has companies looking to the their supply chains for greater efficiencies. Long-tail SKUs and accelerated obsolescence cycles are clogging storage capacity that is needed for expansion of new lines, categories and products to deliver "one-stop shopping" for customers and competitive advantage for distributors. The next competitive edge will come, not from step change, but from transformational projects that deliver unprecedented efficiency and agility. - Chris Mehl, electronics industry leader, Fortna Inc.

After more than two decades of bad blood and legal wrangling between states and the online giant, Amazon will collect sales tax in all states that have such a levy. Collection in Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, and New Mexico, the final four states where shoppers don't pay required tax through the site, will begin on April 1st.

Construction and design professionals will likely have an easier time finding and using sustainable building materials thanks to efforts from two flooring manufacturers: a new product catalog by Tarkett and new product-specific environmental product declarations (EPDs) from Gerflor USA.