You buy and pay for things by picking them up and walking out of this convenience store. That’s it. Thus, Amazon Go epitomizes the company’s obsession with removing friction from shopping.

Analyst Insight: We have entered an era of radically changed weather patterns which will have a much more pivotal and dominant impact on commodity prices. Smart commodity managers will increasingly draw on weather expertise and weather related-instruments when formulating their hedging strategies.

Analyst Insight: Don't be fooled by the dismal lack of progress in government venues on climate-change agreements or environmental legislation. The smartest companies are already pushing the frontier to bigger and bolder green agendas to gain competitive advantage, with the added benefit of enhancing their reputations for true corporate responsibility.

Extreme commodity price volatility has become the norm. To cope, successful sourcing professionals must deeply understand the commodity markets. This means knowing the current and expected industry capacity for delivering that commodity, current and emerging sources of demand, and trading speculation trends.