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.

Mark Zeni, director of fulfillment with First Solar, talks about the challenges his company faces in gaining full visibility of supply and demand, and in dealing with increasing supply-chain volatility.

Arpad Hevizi, vice president of supply chain solutions with Celestica, talks about the challenges his company faces in gaining full visibility of supply and demand, and in dealing with increasing supply-chain volatility.

Gordon Pearson, global inventory director with NCR, talks about the challenges his company faces in gaining full visibility of supply and demand, and in dealing with increasing supply-chain volatility.

For 2013, airlines are expected to return a global net profit of $12.9bn. This is expected to lead to a net profit of $19.7bn in 2014. Both are improvements on previous months. The upward revision reflects lower jet fuel prices over the forecast period as well as improvements to the industry's structure and efficiency. Passenger markets continue to outperform the cargo business, which remains stagnant both on volumes and revenues.

The United Arab Emirates' military plans to complete the rollout of a streamlined joint logistics model and communications system to improve information sharing, procurement and training among its Navy, Army and Air Force in 2014.