Big business could be saving millions of dollars per year - a full margin point or more - on their indirect spend: areas like IT, logistics, marketing, and energy that may not be a part of a business's core product, but have a big impact on the bottom line.

These are difficult times for economists and company managers because the outlook for 2013 is highly dependent on how the fiscal cliff (the large government budget cuts and tax increases that take effect on January 1, 2013) impasse is resolved and secondarily on whether Europe continues to recover from the recession resulting from its fiscal and financial crisis.

A survey by ShopRunner, which brings together a network of retailers to deliver shopping services, found that consumers are not concerned solely about free shipping on purchases, but free return shipping is increasingly at the forefront of their needs.

Reusable totes with innovative refrigerants inside have reduced returns of costly pharmaceuticals and helped to guarantee patient safety.

The whole "fiscal cliff" mess, even if averted for the moment, promises to have a huge, long-term impact on nearly every aspect of American life. Transportation, as it so often does, will likely take its place far down the list of lawmakers' priorities. At least until crumbling highways, collapsed bridges and inadequate roads bring key portions of the national infrastructure to a standstill.