Tim Jordan, associate director for supply chain management with MAP Pharmaceuticals, talks about the key elements involved in setting up a strategic sourcing program for global companies.

This spring, President Obama said he had "good news" to report: Lost American jobs are returning to the U.S. "For a lot of businesses, it's now starting to make sense to bring jobs back home." In trumpeting this "reshoring" of jobs from abroad, the administration points to employers, including General Electric and Caterpillar, that have shifted some manufacturing to the U.S. The president also cited an April online survey by Boston Consulting Group showing that 37 percent of manufacturers with sales of more than $1bn and almost half of those with more than $10bn "plan to or are actively considering bringing back production from China to the U.S." Yet there's little data to back up claims of a reshoring rush.

The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has joined with FreightWatch International to offer customers additional protection against cargo theft. Under the arrangement, FreightWatch will grant customers of Chubb transportation insurance a 10-percent discount on real-time shipment-tracking services.

CaroTrans, a non-vessel operating common carrier and ocean freight consolidator, has opened a branch office in Le Havre, France.

ALK Technologies Inc. has released PC-Miler 26, the latest version of the company's software for routing, mapping and mileage calculations.

The Indonesian economy has surged forward to its highest level in years. While growth is expected to be 6.1 percent in 2012, on June 7 the Jakarta Globe reported the government reckons it to be 7.2 percent next year. (World Bank estimates previously had suggested 6.4% growth in GDP in 2013.)

Brian W. Hagen, managing director of the Decision Empowerment Institute, explains why supply-chain risk management has failed as a decision-making tool for many companies.

Everyone wants their business to grow, to broaden its operations within a territory or country and, eventually, across borders to other countries and continents. However, business expansion abroad entails a great deal of forethought, especially with regard to enterprise software applications.

Syncron International AB, a provider of supply-chain and price-optimization technology, has released its 2012 solution suite.