As much as IoT is the buzzword of consumer electronics, it will quickly become a critical part of the electronics supply chain as companies use sensors to maximize efficiency of various business tasks and integrate that information into a strategic advantage.

Drones. Trucks. Cars. Worldwide brick and mortar fulfillment centers. Delivery in 30 to 60 minutes. And, now talk about leasing cargo planes. These sound like strings of strategy planning discussions from UPS, FedEx, and the likes of other logistics companies, right.

At its core, a warehouse management system offers warehouses and distributors a tool to help improve customer service. That means knowing what you have, where you have it and how soon you can promise delivery.

You're probably getting desensitized by now to the ever-lengthening list of data breach headlines which have saturated the news for the past couple of years. Targeted attacks, persistent threats and the like usually end up with the hackers capturing sensitive IP, customer information or trade secrets. The result? Economic damage, board level sackings and a heap of bad publicity for the breached organization. But that's usually where it ends.

Many European companies are working hard to solve their "captive cash" problem, improve their cash-to-cash cycle, and manage their financial and supply chain risk across complex markets and supplier agreements. But the two primary approaches they take - supply chain finance and working capital reduction - result in very different supply chain outcomes.