Many companies are investing in strengthening their social media presence and related capabilities. In the summer and fall of 2011, Booz + Company and Buddy Media, a social enterprise software provider, conducted a quantitative survey of 117 leading companies and a series of in-depth interviews with senior marketing and media executives. The results revealed that strengthening social media is on the CEO's agenda at 40 percent of responding companies and is a top marketing priority for about 60 percent. Seventy-eight percent believe that social media efforts enhance their marketing effectiveness; 95 percent expect to invest more in social media.

Toys "R" Us CEO Jerry Storch has taken a light saber to the idea that the future belongs to the internet and that big box retailers are doomed to irrelevance. Storch says the successful brands will be those with a consumer-facing network across all channels, and says Toys "R" Us is leveraging its strengths, including its store base, to grow and thrive over the long term.

Employees at tomato and cucumber producer Eurofresh Farms have increased their productivity by between 200 and 250 percent thanks to an RFID-based solution that helps the company track the exact amount of work performed by each staff member, and then compensate that individual accordingly.

British American Tobacco has elected to standardize on Apriso's FlexNet as its exclusive manufacturing execution system software solution.

Following a better-than-expected back-to-school season, retailers are optimistic for year-end retail sales. According to a new survey from BDO USA, LLP, retail CFOs expect a 4.5-percent increase in total 2012 sales.

FedEx Corp. slashed profit projections for 2012 after posting another quarterly slump in earnings, and its chief executive said trade has slowed to levels not seen during the last two significant economic downturns. That's not exactly what Wall Street wants to hear from a company considered to be a bellwether of the global economy. And it also portends bad news for the hundreds of major U.S. companies that will start reporting third-quarter earnings in a few weeks.

Manufacturing data tend to be a leading indicator for the rest of the economy. The recent weakness is more an indication of future conditions than present ones, meaning the U.S. manufacturing renaissance of the last two years may be about to take an extended breather.

China has become the biggest market for Amway's nutritional supplements. But three years ago, when the icon of multi-level marketing faced a decision as to whether to build a state-of-the-art supplement plant in China or in the U.S., Amway chose to erect it down the road from its global headquarters in Ada, Michigan. It's typical of a renaissance in U.S. manufacturing.