Analyst Insight: The increasingly hyper-competitive supply chain landscape requires a reassessment of "old" supplier relationships and a paradigm shift. Executives are scrutinizing old business practices, especially those related to supplier management. Manufacturers are reassessing outsourcing engagements and bringing many of them back in-house (termed "backsourcing" or "reshoring") given that many of the original reasons for outsourcing have changed. Increased supplier segmentation will force a reassessment of supplier governance, with leading companies having segmented supplier management strategies. - Nada R. Sanders, Professor of Supply Chain Management and Iacocca Chair, Lehigh University

Undoubtedly businesses need to guard their end products against counterfeiting to protect their profits, their brands, their customers, and the financial health of their businesses. But fighting counterfeits cannot be fully effective without guarding supply sources - the materials and components used to manufacture the end products.

According to figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, retail sales exceeded expectations despite headwinds caused by extreme weather in the Northeast and a continued adjustment to higher payroll taxes.

Analyst Insight: Spend under management and compliance rates are considered key metrics to measure the success of almost any spend management program. Companies that try to achieve those by fiat alone will invariably fall short of their goals. Purchasing organizations are much more likely to succeed if they provide tools and systems that actually make the lives of their business users (the ones who make the purchase decisions) easier, rather than simply piling on more administrative work for the end user. - Bill McBeath, Chief Research Officer, ChainLink Research

Chinese and Indian consumers are living well and eating well. And that could spark a global crisis. The consumer boom in China and India will touch off global inflation and could lead to food and water riots if investment, policy and technology don't keep pace.