Ever since Frederick Taylor's early writing on industrial efficiency - followed by the work of Peter Drucker, Alfred Chandler, and others - the modern Western corporation has been managed according to a tightly defined set of rules and norms. A clear corporate strategy calls for earning at least the cost of capital, growing at a higher rate than the overall market, and managing the portfolio to a "logic" - periodically pruning poorly performing businesses. And with Wall Street analysts ready to applaud CEOs for making their numbers or pulverize them for a one-cent per share miss, there is often little opportunity to change course.
Despite Middle Eastern carriers recording a 16-percent, year-over-year, increase in freight demand in July, global cargo markets shrunk 3.2 percent, year-over-year, according to International Air Transport Association statistics. IATA partially attributed this decline to a comparison with a "relatively strong" July 2011, but said global trade growth is still sluggish.
In 2001, Jim O'Neill kicked off a decade-long investment boom with a catchy acronym for the four largest emerging-market economies - BRIC, for Brazil, Russia, India and China. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairman is now promoting a new foursome of fast-track countries: Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey. Call them MIST countries.
Increasing labor costs in China's heavily industrialized areas, mostly along the coastline, are driving many companies to move production to the country's inland regions, creating a number of logistics and supply chain challenges, according to Greg Spudic, vice president of North American sales and marketing for Dimerco Express.
In emerging markets, regulations impacting trade and business differ greatly from country to country and changes constantly occur with little or no notice, says Mark Millar, managing partner at M Power Associates, Hong Kong. Because of this, trade compliance is an increasingly important issue for companies doing business in these economies.
By 2025, annual consumption in emerging markets will reach $30tr - the biggest growth opportunity in the history of capitalism. To compete for the prize, companies must be disciplined.
As part of a program to cut costs and guarantee the lowest prices on the market, the big retailer seeks to boost its reliance on direct sourcing. But the change will require a major overhaul of its IT supply-chain infrastructure for dealing with key suppliers.
