Inspired by practices in the private sector, the Army Materiel Command division embraces the concept of integrated business planning - and ends up saving billions of dollars in inventory expense.

The point of running a business is to make a profit. So it seems odd that, when companies move to integrate their operations, they so often leave finance out of the picture.

Long tails can get, well, rather long. Some see this as a mandate to hunt down and kill off the items furthest out on the tail.

A conversation with Noelle Walsh, corporate vice president of supply chain with The Dow Chemical Co.