Merck & Co. is facing another supply interruption for its ovulation-stimulating hormone Follistim, and like the supply lapse from several years ago, Merck has little to say.

Having a supply chain strategy is equally important for midsize companies as it is for enterprise-level firms. In Part I of this series, here are some of the key high-level approaches you can adapt from your bigger business counterparts.

DHL Global Forwarding has launched DHL Ocean Thermonet, a new ocean freight product tailored to the life sciences and healthcare sector.

Taking a company global sounds great, but once a business decides to do it, the cascade of challenges begins. Customs clearance, industry rules and regulations, and new infrastructures are just a few — especially for mid-size companies. The ones that succeed will be the ones that have done the most homework and found the right partners.

After years of stagnant activity, mergers and acquisitions surged in 2014, with the announcement of more than 7,500 deals with a combined value exceeding $3.5tr. That's an increase of more than 7 percent by number and more than 25 percent by value compared with 2013. While that volume hasn't yet reached the high of nearly 10,000 deals set in 2007, a new wave of activity is clearly under way.