Some signs are subtle, like the “Whole Foods + Amazon” one near the bananas. Others are more obvious, like the kiosk with Amazon devices for sale.

Two years ago, Tang Xin had never set foot in Mexico and didn’t know a word of Spanish. While his grasp of the language hasn’t improved much since then, he has built one of the country’s hottest apps.

This year, the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 revealed that retailers are placing an increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility. The average CSR score for the top 10 retailers in the report was 6.8 in 2017, compared with 5.8 last year. Furthermore, four companies (Inditex, H&M, Gap and Wesfarmers) scored a maximum of 10 this year, whereas the highest ranking by any company last year was nine, also achieved by four companies. -John Johnson, Senior Content Specialist, Gartner

2017 brought a new presidential administration and an almost immediate end to the highly anticipated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The rest of the year consisted of many unfulfilled protectionist threats in the U.S. and abroad such as the initiation of NAFTA renegotiation. The World Economic Forum has pointed out that supply chains are the backbone of the global economy. As companies continue to send armies of lobbyists to protect their global supply chains, there is no chance that the threats to your company will disappear. -Beth Pride, President, BPE Global

110 people in 1996. Two pilots in 2010. Eight warehouse workers in a sort facility in 2014. 239 people in 2014. Each case, dangerous goods were or may have been involved. The value lost, immeasurable. Shipping dangerous goods is more than kicking boxes and licking labels. With over a million shipments of dangerous goods everyday in the United States, it is critical for organizations to recognize when they have dangerous goods and to provide training to employees. -Joe Tillman, Founder, TSquared Logistics