Somalia and Gulf of Aden still have pirate-infested waters, but over the last five quarters, a new country's national waters have become the most heavily pirated on earth, according to data from the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre.

For most companies, growth has slowed. Profits are sluggish. Complexity reigns and cycles are longer. The challenges and opportunities of business are greater. Supply chain excellence helps a company to better balance demand and supply. It also helps companies to be more resilient: weathering demand and supply volatility while maximizing opportunities and mitigating risks.

Eighty-five percent of companies with global supply chains experienced at least one supply chain disruption in the previous 12 months. Risk is inherently unpredictable. Fortunately, the current workforce is undergoing its own transformation to be able to identify and manage risk on a global basis.