Flextronics International Inc., a multinational company offering design, manufacturing, distribution and aftermarket services to original equipment manufacturers, won the 10th Annual Supply Chain Innovation Award at the yearly conference of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, held this year in San Antonio.

A hot topic among retailers, customers and logistics professionals alike for years, omnichannel fulfillment is finally here. Whether shopping in person, buying online and picking up in store, or having merchandise sent directly to them, customers expect access to the same inventory.

Hedge funds are betting that the price of cocoa will rise on concern that the deadly Ebola disease will disrupt supplies from West Africa, which produces 70 percent of the global supply.

Still growing, with Europe forecast to grow by 6 percent and North America by 5 percent, automotive logistics offers growth prospects but only for those logistics service providers who can exploit change. This is one of the main conclusions of the latest report from Transport Intelligence, "Global Automotive Logistics 2014".

UPS announced that it expects to hire between 90,000 and 95,000 seasonal employees to support the anticipated holiday surge in package deliveries that will begin in October and continue through January 2015. Last year, all carriers were swamped with orders, many at the last minute, and many deliveries were made after the holidays.

The trends favor a centralized inventory under one roof, but the question whether it is the most effective response to the challenges of multichannel distribution persists.

North American freight volumes bounced back in August from a normal July dip, but did not cause a similar increase in freight spending. Compared to July, spending was down slightly.

Demand for commercial vehicles remained healthy in August as 43,100 total NA Classes 5-8 orders were booked. Over the course of the past 12 months, NA Classes 5-8 net orders have totaled 531,500 units, an improvement of 20 percent/90,000 units compared to the preceding 12-month period.

First and foremost, a dedicated holiday supply chain strategy needs to be in place at least six months before the holidays, says Doug Pasquale, senior vice president of supply chain solutions for Ingram Micro Mobility. It's always a good idea to begin planning immediately following the previous year's season and engage manufacturers and logistics partners as soon as possible.