A few years ago, DHL Express was in a downward spiral of data quality. The company had used a Microsoft costing tool deployed locally in the 200 countries in it operates. Graeme Aitkin, vice president of business controlling, said the tool used employee interviews to localize cost allocations, asking couriers how they spent their time every day. In the old days, he said, when the data wasn't available, it wasn't possible for a company to have a unified costing and pricing system across a global company.

It's a military truism that amateurs talk strategy while professionals study logistics. Two engaging new World War II histories remind us why logistics matter more. In fact, in wartime, logistics eats strategy for lunch.

The notion of a "chief procurement officer" isn't new. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has had one since 1998, and the title can be found in any number of other government agencies and branches of the military. Private companies have embraced it as well, although the position hasn't enjoyed a solid footing in most C-suites for more than a decade or so. Maybe it was the success of companies like Apple, with its mastery of supply management, that convinced top executives of the need to elevate procurement to the highest levels of the organization.

Commodities are often given short shrift in discussions about supply-chain risk management. Dave Brown, vice president of supply chain and agricultural sales in North America for Ingredion Inc., helps to correct the oversight.

Comdata Corp. is now offering its payment services in Canada.