Many would be surprised to learn the extent to which slavery is still present in global supply chains. Gary Barraco, senior director of supply chain solutions with Amber Road, discusses the problem, and offers guidance on how companies can eliminate all forms of forced labor from their global operations.

Echo's recent acquisition of Command Transportation will grow its revenue by 50 percent and strengthen its presence in the truckload brokerage market, says Echo CEO Doug Waggoner. He explains the role of acquisitions in Echo's growth strategy and his view on 3PL consolidation trends.

C.H. Robinson has introduced Freightview, cloud-based transportation-management system (TMS) software for small and midsized businesses.

Transplace, the provider of transportation-management and logistics services and technology, has launched a supply-chain consulting practice.

Retailers increasingly are using customized packaging to meet the preferences of customers in specific stores, regions or channels, says Jason Tham, CEO of Nulogy. This work often is outsourced by brand manufacturers and Nulogy has developed software to link and streamline the process.

To build advantage, organizations must do more than just change. They must transform. As technology's role in business becomes ever more important, transformations will increasingly be underpinned by significant technology programs. In such technology-enabled transformations, IT leaders need two different strategies to ensure success.

Today's businesses need to go beyond visibility to full transparency, says Nancy Marino, partner at Columbus Consulting, whose clients are mostly retailers. This means using technology to focus the performance of independent silos on corporate KPIs, thus improving performance, she says.