Analyst Insight: In 2015, I predicted that the healthcare industry was finally sharpening its focus on profitability and efficiency. While I was writing this Walgreens moved on Rite-Aid and further consolidated the retail pharmacy market, but more importantly strengthened their negotiating leverage on price breaks. If the cost of the supply chain from sourcing to production to distribution was not a priority, it just became critical to profit margins and customer service. - Brian Hudock, Partner, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: Your target customers have completed their research and are ready to purchase your product. Then comes the final step in the purchasing process - selecting the delivery method (logistics channel) that best fits their immediate needs. In today's world, whether customers realize it or not, they are driving companies to become more flexible in their logistics capabilities. - Thompson Brockman, Partner, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: It is important to recognize that a consumer packaged goods company's network determines its supply chain efficiency and customer satisfaction. Designing an optimal supply chain network means the network must be able to meet the long-term strategic objectives of the company. Most business units or functional areas within a company are impacted by network design efforts; therefore, the involvement of key stakeholders is imperative. - Bruce Tompkins, Partner, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: Sales and operations planning (S&OP) has been evolving for over three decades; its most recent iteration is Integrated Business Planning (IBP). While many companies struggle to derive full value from S&OP/IBP, those that excel at it have gone beyond simply balancing supply and demand. Their IBP processes support better, faster and more profit-focused decisions and liberate untapped profit potential at key points in the supply chain. – Jim Snyder, Managing Director, and Brad Householder, Partner, PwC Advisory Practice

Analyst Insight: The pharmaceutical industry is finally sharpening its focus on profitability and efficiency. 2014 saw continued mergers and acquisitions, but more importantly, the acceleration of business focus on core sectors. Now that the impacts of the Affordable Care Act are better understood, the ability to streamline operations into sectors is driving spin-offs, sell-offs and renewed operational pressures. Two key drivers this year involving supply chains will be inventory reduction and control and lean cost reduction. – Brian Hudock, Partner, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: It's no secret that the explosion of e-commerce, omnichannel, multichannel and social media - along with large online retailers' offerings - have significantly raised customers' expectations for rapid delivery, free shipping and free returns. Customers are clearly signaling that a company's successes and failures rest on high expectations of price, selection, convenience and experience. Companies must "get local" in order to meet customers' demands for speed of delivery. – John Spain, Partner, Tompkins International