Chris Caplice, executive director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, discusses his research on identifying dominant designs in logistics and how these designs, in which companies are heavily invested, may be disrupted by emerging trends.

Rick Blasgen, president and CEO of CSCMP, reflects on the organization's accomplishments over its 50-year history and shares his vision going forward for the industry and its practitioners.

MIT's High-Viz Supply Chain Project is developing a way for companies to automatically map and analyze supply chain risk. Bruce Arntzen, executive director of the Supply Chain Management Program at MIT, explains the methodology underlying this project, progress to date and barriers that still exist.

Hong Kong has maintained its status as the world's freest economy, a distinction that it has achieved for 20 consecutive years. The nomination was made in the 20th anniversary edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, published jointly by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.

Significant further testing must be conducted into the provision of advance data for air cargo and mail parcels security screening. Furthermore, common global standards and procedures must be developed to avoid potentially serious disruption to the flow of world trade, according to The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA).

The Home Depot's ongoing supply chain transformation last year included the opening of 20 new distribution centers, improved inventory turns and lower costs, all achieved while supporting double-digit growth. Charles Armstrong, vice president of supply chain distribution, highlights these accomplishments.

There are cyclical industries, and there's the defense industry. In wartime, billions of additional dollars flow to defense contractors from the U.S. government, and in peacetime, Congress tightens the money spigot. It's a cycle that all contractors are used to, except this time around there's an added dimension: the Budget Control Act of 2011 and sequestration.