When the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, retailers have one thing on their minds: the peak-season holiday shopping rush.

Despite the well-publicized slowdown in economic growth, overall consumer sentiment in China can still be described as cautiously optimistic. More precisely, caution characterizes the lower end of the consumer market, while optimism envelops the high end. China, in other words, has become a two-speed consumer market. The optimistic, "high-speed" consumer market disproportionately consists of middle- to upper-middle-class and affluent households. These consumers also make up the bulk of the digital class of active online shoppers.

XPO Logistics Inc., a freight brokerage and transportation services provider, has acquired UX Specialized Logistics, a North American provider of last-mile logistics services for retail chains and e-commerce companies.

Companies are desperate for new talent to help them achieve supply-chain excellence, as they grapple with ever-larger volumes of data and increasing unpredictability in consumer markets. A SupplyChainBrain Roundtable discussion with Benji Green, director of global supply chain operations with Avaya; Trevor Miles, executive vice president of thought leadership with Kinaxis, and Roddy Martin, managing director of Accenture Supply Chain Strategies.

The nationwide driver shortage just won't go away. And shippers are paying the price.

Even in the age of recycling, forward and reverse supply chains have tended to be treated as separate disciplines. Now the world's largest retailer is partnering with major consumer goods manufacturers to help erase that distinction.