With high-tech purchases expected to account for a major portion of consumer holiday spending this year, UPS has launched a study ("How to Click with High-Tech Online Shoppers") to help retailers gain insights into high-tech shoppers. According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), 68 percent of consumers - roughly 170 million people - plan to purchase technology gifts this holiday season.

UPS has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Marken, a global provider of supply chain solutions to the life sciences industry. The transaction, which provides UPS with growth opportunities across the life sciences customer base, is expected to close by Dec. 31, UPS said. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Effective Dec. 26, 2016, the UPS U.S. ground service daily rate will increase by an average net 4.9 percent. Daily rates for UPS U.S. air and international services will increase an average net 4.9 percent. UPS airfreight rates within and between the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, will increase an average net 4.9 percent, also effective Dec. 26, 2016. Further, UPS Freight announced an average net 4.9 percent general rate increase effective Sept. 19, 2016.

Traditional Lean and Six Sigma practices are insufficient to address the complexities of modern industrial manufacturing, and companies are turning to "smart operations," which use pervasive data collection, advanced analytics, technology investments and deeper collaboration with partners to prepare their value streams for the next industrial revolution.

Avid online shoppers, who make two or more purchases online in a typical three-month period, are leading a retail revolution. These consumers are shopping more with their smartphones and demanding a more seamless experience between virtual and physical stores, according to the Fifth Annual UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study.