A rationale often used in support of a more centralized corporate purchasing function is the need for a company to project "One Face to the Supplier".

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.

To hear some tell it, the world will soon be abuzz with small drones that inspect bridges, monitor pipelines, survey crops and help assess damage for insurance claims.

While the economy recovered and retailers grew more optimistic, 2014 was "the year of the POS breach," with many highly publicized attacks compromising millions of personal records. As a result, some of the largest and most popular retail brands were severely damaged.