Analyst Insight: Companies are starting to look at climate change more scientifically. Rather than making judgments based on their own experience, they are using external data to drive models to gauge the potential for disruption to their own supply chains - from singular events such as hurricanes to longer-term effects such as crop migration. This process helps them to understand how truly resilient they are in their ability to source, manufacture and distribute their products. - Glen Goldbach, Principal, PwC; Christoph Hahn, Director, PwC; Kelvin Harris, Director, PwC

Analyst Insight: We have spent over a decade understanding what drives operational performance in DCs through the DC Measures Study. We've written that a DC's operations should reflect the firm's strategic direction. If the strategy is not communicated or understood, firm performance will be mixed at best. Combining over 2,000 respondents spanning five years of data, we've identified a common theme: the lack of alignment between the operational level and corporate strategy. -- Karl B. Manrodt, Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, & Donnie Williams, Assistant Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Georgia College & State University

Here's a question for U.S. exporters who were grievously harmed by the West Coast longshore labor slowdown in late 2014 and early 2015: Would it make you feel any better to learn that you were the victims of "a street brawl"?

Analyst Insight: Labor costs are rising just as the availability of workers is shrinking and turnover is increasing. According to the Census Bureau, 60 million Baby Boomers will exit the workforce by 2025, but only 40 million new workers will enter. Companies must rethink how they bridge that gap and keep costs in-line. Many life sciences companies are reaching a scale where investments in automation help replace manual, labor-intensive operations. But companies must be careful in evaluating automation investments. - Roger Counihan, Life Sciences Industry Leader, Fortna Inc.

Analyst Insight: Over the next few years, numerous new regulations are coming into effect worldwide, requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, dispensers and others up and down the chain to build serialization, verification, and traceability into their supply chains. While there is tremendous potential ROI and added value from these investments, right now all the focus is on the race to comply before the deadlines hit. Those who get there first will likely have a head start in finding additional value from these newfound capabilities. - Bill McBeath, Chief Research Officer, ChainLink Research

After years of delay, the automation of importer filings, involving multiple government agencies, is upon us. Say hello to the "Single Window."

Analyst Insight: Manufacturers are under greater pressure to improve product reliability and reduce cost-of-quality non-conformance, while increasing product functionality. This can be done through increased use of software, mechatronic systems, new materials and manufacturing technologies. Still, more pressures await, as manufacturers struggle to reduce a product’s time-to-market, all while keeping capital investment low. Doing more with less requires manufacturers to reduce the time from detecting a product issue to correcting it, known as detection to correction (D2C). - Kevin Reale, Senior Manager, Advisory, Ernst & Young LLP

Analyst Insight: Logistics accounts for the bulk of humanitarian relief expenditures. Application of technologies and frameworks used in commercial supply chain activities can reduce costs, increase velocity and save lives during crisis. - Kathy Fulton, Executive Director, American Logistics Aid Network

Analyst Insight: Ever wonder why a majority of inventory optimization projects struggle to completely realize potential benefits? Most companies focus solely on inventory strategy, without taking a comprehensive, holistic approach. Taking the holistic approach introduces two additional levers to inventory optimization - business alignment and execution excellence - which, coupled with inventory strategy, enable supply chains to achieve strategic and targeted performance improvement goals. We call these the three rings of inventory optimization. - Rodrigo Cambiaghi, Principal; Claudio Menegusso, Senior Manager; Mark Johnson, Manager; and Saurabh Jha, Senior, all in the Advisory Services of Ernst & Young LLP

Analyst Insight: The connected nature of today's business environment is driving exponential growth in data, which is subsequently driving improvements in advanced analytic capabilities and the opportunity to leverage advanced analytics in manufacturing processes. For industrial manufacturing firms, capturing real-time data relative to asset performance and condition enables predictive maintenance and helps to realize productivity improvements and cost savings by reducing unscheduled downtime and optimizing asset performance. - John Santagate, Research Manager, IDC