As a supply chain manager, you can build and deploy the best supplier collaboration system available, but if your vendors are not onboard, it's about as useful as an empty warehouse. The success of your collaboration project is directly tied to supplier willingness to use the system.

Beset by continued sluggish demand, a growing mountain of debt and a radically changing marketplace, listed companies in the global container shipping industry as a whole face a greater risk of financial distress, including possible bankruptcy, than at any time since 2010, and that risk has grown in each of those past three years. That's according to a new study from AlixPartners, the global business-advisory firm.

Product lifecycle management (PLM) and product design have been applications that have been slow to move to the cloud, for a number of reasons. But as companies increasingly switch on to the flexibility, scalability and affordability that cloud platforms offer, so adoption has increased.

SAI Global Compliance, a provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) products, services and technology, is offering complimentary use of a video-based ethical awareness to aerospace and defense, and manufacturing organizations with global operations, through May 15, 2014.

SupplyChainBrain and JobsInLogistics have joined forces in 2014 for the specialized purpose of:

Supply chain visibility is a requirement for any organization competing in today's global marketplace. The top strategy for organizations looking to improve visibility into their supply chains is to implement technologies that enable effective monitoring of not just tier one suppliers but tier two and tier three suppliers. New technologies enable real-time collaboration between an organization and its suppliers by providing a mechanism for sharing information about inventory and processes throughout the supply chain. – Andrea Stroud, Research Program Manager, APQC

A strong, enduring team is key to warehousing success. Since its inception, WERC has supported the warehouse associate as a professional and logistics as a viable career choice. We wanted to know: Do companies utilize outreach programs to "sell" the profession? What methods are used to announce job openings? How do companies determine candidates as a good fit? What about "diversity" – language issues, hiring disabled individuals? – Michael Mikitka, CEO, Warehousing Education and Research Council

Analyst Insight: In July 2013, Mary Driscoll of APQC had an interesting headline in the Harvard Business Review Blog — "Why are Companies Continually Getting Blind-sided by Risk?" Their risk management survey highlighted that 75 percent of respondents stated they were hit by at least one major supply chain disruption over the past two years. Another key finding: people at the front lines of business were hamstrung by lack of resources for visibility needed to adequately assess their supply chain risk. – Gregory L. Schlegel, Founder, The Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium, and Adjunct Professor, Supply Chain Risk Management, Lehigh University