As China's economy has grown, much attention has been paid to its middle class and its high-net-worth individuals. Less noticed has been its affluent population.

When he was asked if Big Data is just a buzzword, a marketing tool vendors use to sell more software to CFOs, Justin Borgman, the founder and chief executive officer of Hadapt, a data-analysis software vendor, answered honestly: "Yes. It's an excuse to sell you more stuff." However, he added, "it's stuff you'll eventually need."

Professor Yossi Sheffi, director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, describes the development of logistics clusters and their considerable economic advantages, which include the creation of steady, well paying jobs for both blue- and white-collar workers.

Wal-Mart Stores reported that its investigation into violations of a federal anti-bribery law had extended beyond Mexico to China, India and Brazil, some of the retailer's most important international markets.

Even as companies are relying more on technology to come up with innovative business models and fresh ideas for finding new revenue, many boards of directors don't understand enough about IT to keep up.

After a half-decade of running on the treadmill, manufacturers are once again positioning themselves to achieve growth. An Accenture survey found that 89 percent of 81 senior manufacturing executives at U.S.-based companies with global operations are expecting growth. In fact, about four in 10 companies surveyed already have successfully restored either their production or profitability levels beyond pre-recession levels of 2007.

Ryder System, Inc. reports that its fleet of 250 natural gas vehicles have surpassed six million miles. The fleet consists of 35 liquefied natural gas and 215 compressed natural gas tractors, running in 32 customer operations in California, Arizona and Michigan.

It's an often overlooked area of the supply chain, with a woeful record of success. Josefin Aspegren, marketing director with Optilon, talks about the challenge of assessing the efficacy of trade-promotion programs.