Is it feasible to scan every one of the 15 million containers that enter U.S. ports each year? With a new technology, the long-term answer might well be yes.

Analyst Insight: In 2009, Dr. Robert Trent, Lehigh Supply Chain Management Department Chair, and I began to discuss supply chain risk in terms of how it was negatively impacting companies around the world. This dialogue led to capturing as much information available on the subject, codifying, classifying and developing a framework which became a graduate class in supply chain risk management and ultimately a new book, just launched, entitled Supply Chain Risk Management: An Emerging Discipline. – Gregory L. Schlegel, Founder, The Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium, and Adjunct Professor, Supply Chain Risk Management, Lehigh University

Analyst Insight: In optimizing their global supply chains, companies focus on quality, cost and service metrics and trying to maximize return on their investments in supply chain projects. What is often overlooked is the major impact that supply chains have on intangible capital of a company – its corporate reputation. – Viktoria Sadlovska, Research Director at Reputation Institute

Analyst Insight: The complexity of modern supply chains introduces a wide variety of risks into business operations. Supply chain professionals primarily worry about logistics and planning challenges, but a host of legal exposures can come into play as well. The management of these vendor risks typically falls to legal and compliance stakeholders, but ultimately impacts supply chain activities. This creates a unique need for integration between solutions supporting risk and supply chain management. – David Houlihan, Principal Analyst at Blue Hill Research

With a tentative agreement in place between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), the 7-month-long West Coast port crisis has come to an end. What comes next is the final body count - what percentage of GDP shrank because of the slowdown? What was the impact on the trade deficit? Who got hit hardest, and just how hard? Then what? There may be a collective sigh of relief in the air, but can things really go back to normal? Should they?

Assuming that the rank and file of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) ratifies the new five-year contract negotiated with terminal operators, West Coast ports can finally focus on getting container-handling operations back to normal. So is everyone happy?