Many companies unintentionally have created departmental silos within their organizations. Information and products go back and forth between the different functional areas, but the customer is often missing from the process. When lean supply chain strategies, which focus on eliminating waste, are implemented, once again the customer is often times left out. Instead of focusing on the client, the company focuses internally to improve processes. Research shows that undertaking a lean supply chain journey that extends outside the four walls of the organization significantly improves the customer experience, company productivity and the bottom line. - Eric Lail, VP, Continuous Improvement and Client Services, Transportation Insight

While planning a global high-tech product launch can seem daunting, working with your company's stakeholders and outside partners from the earliest stages can help ensure success.

The shipping industry is poised to emerge from its longest downturn in three decades, buoyed by an end to years of overcapacity that have depressed freight rates since the end of a shipping boom in 2008.

Analyst Insight: Final delivery - it's the last phase of the delivery process that places goods into the consumer's hands. What will final delivery look like in the future? There are multiple competing business models to fulfill the final delivery need, ranging from the engagement of independent contractors, to wholly owned internal operations and systems based on crowdsourcing. In the end, the maximum value provided to the end customer will determine who is most successful - not just who delivers the product. -- Lisa Kennedy, Project Manager, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: Direct delivery of orders to the customer's doorstep is a hot topic for transportation and logistics executives"”from giants like Amazon to mom-and-pop specialty retailers. In particular, there is a lot of buzz around the direct-to-consumer cold chain. Free delivery and free returns, combined with the complexity and cost of cold chain distribution center (DC) and delivery assets, make for a chief marketing officer's dream and a chief financial officer's nightmare. How can you get this capability just right? - Don Anderson, Principal, Tompkins International

Cementing its role in the North American supply chain, the value of intermodal transport speaks for itself with another year of solid growth. Building on the industry's positive 2012 performance, total shipments improved 4.6 percent in 2013, according to the Intermodal Association of North America's (IANA) fourth quarter and year-end Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics. Domestic container volume "” which doubled over the past 10 years "” outperformed other markets in 2013, capping the year with a 9.4 percent bump, which was consistent with Q4 growth of this segment at 9.0 percent.

In her August 2013 report, SUPPLY CHAIN TALENT: THE MISSING LINK IN YOUR FUTURE? Supply Chain Insights' Lora Cecere noted that "Companies are feeling the pain of open positions... The talent shortage is greatest for middle-management positions."

With warehousing and logistics operations in numerous countries, Greg McKinley of InComm shares his experience and advice on how to select a reliable in-country vendor.