APICS, the professional association for supply-chain management, has entered into a strategic partnership with Software AG.

Merck & Co. is facing another supply interruption for its ovulation-stimulating hormone Follistim, and like the supply lapse from several years ago, Merck has little to say.

Avnet Inc. has entered into a partnership with Arizona State University and its Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering to create the Avnet Innovation Lab.

Millennials aren't real.

Desalination is typically an energy-intensive - and thus expensive - way to produce freshwater, which is one of the reasons it has been slow to take off as a widespread solution to water shortages.

Executives are likelier than ever to believe that geopolitical and domestic political instability will affect global business and their own companies in coming years, according to the newest McKinsey Global Survey on globalization.

As they witness the proliferation of sensors, software, computing power and connectivity embedded in everything from motor vehicles to home appliances, equipment manufacturers of all kinds are asking an existential question: is it time to stop thinking of themselves primarily as hardware and systems companies and instead to view themselves as providers of software solutions and services?