Working capital optimization has always been the least expensive and most readily available form of cash. With tightening credit markets the option of liberating cash from a company's operational processes has moved to the forefront. Inventory optimization presents the second-largest opportunity among the working capital components after trade receivables and ahead of trade payables.

Only 31 percent of organizations are looking at inventory management as a competitive differentiator versus the rest looking at it as a cost impactor. By adjusting the existing processes to configure a closed-loop inventory management process, organizations can gain significant improvement in customer service levels and reduced inventory carrying costs. The concept of closed-loop inventory management involves seven steps within the process: analyze demand, segment inventory, optimize inventory, replenish inventory, track inventory, manage events, and responsively execute.

To make multi-echelon inventory optimization more impactful, it must take a more holistic approach that accounts for the implications of inventory decisions on total supply chain costs, for organizational realities and weaknesses in supporting functional areas.

The way companies manage global trade and supply chain networks is changing. Aberdeen's research shows that leading performers are moving towards an integrated view of global trade management, focusing on simultaneously optimizing physical, financial and information flows and networks in order to achieve competitive advantage.

Companies and their logistics service providers need to reduce their international transport and logistics costs. Despite the uncertainties of the current business environment, they can apply both old and new techniques.

Aerospace and defense companies face an uncertain world in 2009 with a new presidential administration and a looming financial crisis. Supply chain professionals have a unique opportunity to deliver value to the business by bringing scale through an innovative and reliable partner network. Leaders will put the talent in place that can move beyond the traditional reactionary supply chain organization to one that helps achieve the goals of the business.

Despite an ongoing freight recession in 2008, third-party logistics service provider revenues grew an estimated 5.5 percent to $128.7bn.

In these tough economic times with revenues likely coming up short of expectations, logistics service providers will increasingly be pressured to help lower costs for customers, but not just by squeezing existing rates. Customers need help with lowering network inventories and reducing the total cost to serve by executing demand-driven strategies, enhancing trading partner collaboration, and revisiting the network flows for optimal configuration.

Today's Best-in-Class logistics executives are looking to third-party logistics providers as a value-add extension of their organization that can help deliver value to the customer at lower costs.

There are a lot of parallels between the logistics software industry and the logistics service provider industry. For example, both have undergone a lot of mergers and acquisitions over the past five years, and companies in both industries are looking to further penetrate the small and mid-sized market. And it's also true that the business models of software vendors and LSPs are converging. But an important distinction still remains between these two industries: one primarily sells "products" and the other primarily sells "services." When times get tough, companies tend to outsource more and spend less, which is why LSPs have historically performed better than software vendors during economic slowdowns. Does this mean that LSPs can breathe easy in 2009? Not exactly.