The data explosion: so much to look at, so much to sift through! We are so fascinated with big! Big boats, big cigars and big shoes. But what, really, is big data? What does it mean to your business? And how can you or should you manage it? Although adoption of the buzz word is new, the management of big data is not.

Following the announcement by President Barack Obama and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk that the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement will enter into force May 15, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) said the benefits of the pact will be huge.

Optimizing transportation costs includes analyzing agreements, auditing invoices and assessing value-added processes, says John Haber, founder and CEO of Spend Management Experts. But it's also about identifying contract "gotchas" and "smoke-and-mirror" pricing.

Netflix executives John Ciancutti and Todd Yellin are trying to create a video-recommendation system that knows you better than an old friend. It's a critical mission as Netflix faces pressure from its internet video rivals and subscribers still smarting from recent price hikes.

AIOE was organized last year to bring together operations executives of consumer packaged goods companies in order to develop and share best practices in production operations, says Tom Egan, vice president of industry services at PMMI, which launched the Alliance.

Chainalytics LLC, a provider of supply-chain intelligence, analytics and advisory services, has introduced Integrated Freight Market Intelligence (iFMI).

Best Buy's decline reflects a cultural shift that's reshaping the retail world. All big-box stores, and Best Buy in particular, thrived in an era when comparison shopping meant physically going from store to store.

The exponential growth of data from a widening array of sources is making the term "Big Data" a hot topic among corporate executives from businesses of all sizes across nearly every industry.

In addition to professional programs, the Warehousing Education & Research Council now assesses members' processes so they know if they accord with industry best practices, says Michael Mikitka, CEO of WERC.