Transportation professionals may talk to their peers in marketing and finance, but often there is little real understanding of how decisions impact customer service and, ultimately, the bottom line. Steven Raetz and Kevin McCarthy, executives at C.H. Robinson, discuss a paper they co-authored on bridging this communications gap.

Retailers, particularly big box stores, are demanding more customized packaging of products, which increases demand for contract packaging services, says Dave Mabon, president of contract packaging at Genco. With margins that average 30 to 40 percent, this presents a huge opportunity for service providers.

Providing parts and sub-assemblies to automotive production lines is a highly complex activity, requiring rapid, automated sequencing and sophisticated error proofing. Bo Cheng, director of the automotive business at Comprehensive Logistics, explains how his company is keeping pace as automotive volumes return to pre-recession levels.

Manufacturers are becoming more diverse in their product mixes and geographic reach. But they haven't necessarily responded with the kind of initiatives that drive total integration across the supply chain, says Ben Yokell, principal for demand planning with Chainalytics.

GlobalStar Consulting LLC has joined the Infor Partner Network (IPN) as an Infor Alliance partner.