U.S.-based retailers looking to get into international shipping should expect to see an increase in revenue, according to Craig Turnbull, CEO of Bongo International, just as long as they understand the market, the shipping industry and the needs of their customers. "There is an opportunity to increase revenue from 3 percent to 10 percent," Turnbull said.

Wal-Mart has long had what is virtually beyond question the largest retail supply chain, as measured by number of suppliers, global reach, volume of material, and overall spend on supplier goods. Wal-Mart also has been touted as an innovator in supply-chain management, but it's more accurate to say it uses its sheer size and market power to manipulate the supply chain.

U.S. manufactured exports are expected to surge even more strongly in the coming years, according to research from The Boston Consulting Group, and - along with manufacturing jobs created from reshoring - may add 2.5 million to 5 million jobs by 2020.

It is not surprising that Americans regard their country as an innovation goliath. The world's brightest scientists compete to study at its universities, its feistiest entrepreneurs dream of moving to Silicon Valley and its savviest consumers buy its iPads and software programs. Yet America's innovation advantage is fading rapidly; indeed, in a growing number of areas it has already turned into an innovation deficit.

BT9, a cold-chain management solutions provider, has introduced Xsense, a system designed to ensure all stakeholders in the cold supply chain have full transparency and control over their perishables, anywhere in the world, at any given time.

Members of the World Customs Organization should embrace and implement the principles of the Revised Kyoto Convention and shift from a dependency on paper documents to a full e-Customs environment, says the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group.

A shortage of skilled manufacturing labor is on the way, says a new study by Boston Consulting Group. But, says the firm, it hasn't arrived yet.

Norsk Resirk, a nonprofit Norwegian company that processes discarded plastic bottles and aluminum cans, has completed the first phase of a plan to utilize passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags and readers to improve its management of recyclable materials.

Corporations that have pushed hard this last year to improve their performance in sustainability may now face a new challenge - a growing skepticism among professional investors, supply chain officials and recent higher education graduates. Such are the results of the 2012 Sustainability Leadership Report, now in its second year, which analyzes real vs. perceived sustainability performance for 100 leading global brands that collectively represent 16 percent of the world's economic output.

Clint Lasher, president of Wynright, talks about how electronic fulfillment is changing to meet the needs of today's multi-channel consumers, and how retailers should be redesigning distribution centers to accommodate them.