Is there slavery in your global supply chain? Are you sure about that?

The grand golden doors of 500 Pearl Street, in Manhattan, have welcomed such glamorous names as Hermès, Tiffany & Co., and Kering, a French conglomerate whose treasures include Gucci and Bottega Veneta. The building is not a posh hotel or department store. It is the federal court for the Southern District of New York, a favored battleground for the decidedly unglamorous war against counterfeit goods.

Supply Chain operations increasingly are impacted by corporations' quality assurance and quality control programs, says Laurel Nelson-Rowe, managing director of the American Society for Quality. She discusses the importance of these programs in protecting brand reputations and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Ted Diamantis, an importer of Greek wines who is based in Chicago, has been helping his suppliers stock up on bottles, labels and printing ink. The barrels, though, have him worried.

The dynamics that have long favored China as the world's center of low-cost manufacturing are changing. And no one - not even China - seems to have a problem with that.