A recovering housing market, record level U.S. exports and improved unemployment numbers are all key factors pointing to a slow but steady economic recovery in the United States. But while companies are celebrating their profits and looking at improved sales in the months and years ahead, far greater concerns loom on the horizon for shippers as the ever talked about driver shortage becomes a reality.

Analyst Insight: During 2012, high-tech industry executives recognized that optimizing supply chain operations is directly related to profitable growth, higher operating margins and capital efficiency - each of which helps create value. While new products matter, factors such as selection, price, availability and service also enhance the buying experience. - Gene Tyndall, Executive Vice President, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: The worldwide logistics market has experienced a growth rate of approximately 7 percent annually, which is notable given logistics costs average about 12 percent of total revenues globally. Of this total, an average of 46 percent is spent through outsourced relationships, which drove total spend in North America alone to $134bn in 2011. Given this growth and the increasing complexities of global trade, selecting the appropriate services to outsource and structure mutually beneficial relationships with logistics providers is critical. - Aaron Pernat, Senior Manager, and Gary Allen, Executive Director, both in Ernst & Young's Supply Chain Advisory Practice

Analyst Insight: "Big data" software and analysis will be the most important supply chain technology for forecasting and demand planning in the years to come. Through analysis of huge quantities of data it provides a competitive advantage by providing unparalleled insights. The challenge for companies will be staying ahead of the technology in a cost-effective manner, and developing organizational processes to effectively utilize the huge amounts of data and absorb the information into their organizational decision making processes. - Nada R. Sanders, Professor of Supply Chain Management and Iacocca Chair, Lehigh University

Now more than ever, the supply chain is being buffeted by forces nearly impossible to predict - making increased levels of efficiency and agility more important than ever before. But you can become a Supply Chain Top 25 Peer Voter and help rank manufacturers and retailers who are leading the way in supply chain.

Analyst Insight: CFOs today have a keen sense of the cost of volatility and uncertainty in terms of the link between cash/margins and the supply chain, yet they are largely in the dark when it comes to the quantitative techniques available to improve forecast accuracy, which tends to deteriorate as volatility increases. Major changes are being made in forecasting methods to address this volatility. - Sree Hameed, Vice President, ChainLink Research

Analyst Insight: As new software and technologies gain market entry and alternative sources of information come into play for improving the process of demand planning and forecasting, it is vital that companies embrace this rampant invasion of methodologies and information with a focused, retrospective view of the basics"”to achieve a successful demand planning and forecasting strategy. A strategy that goes back to the basics can help companies ensure they apply universal and effective principles for success. - Jorge García, TEC Senior BI and Data Management Analyst, Technology Evaluation Centers

Analyst Insight: Despite extensive writing from IDC Manufacturing Insights last year extolling the virtues of supply chain responsiveness "” and that in many cases investments in responsiveness might well be better served than investments in forecasting "” manufacturing supply chains continue to rate "making improvements in planning and forecasting" among their top investment priorities. Not that responsiveness isn't important, just that companies believe there is still more progress to be made in things like forecast accuracy. - Simon Ellis, Director, Supply Chain Strategies Practice, IDC Manufacturing Insights