Almost 72 percent of senior supply chain and operations executives are not completely confident in their organizations' product recall and traceability abilities.

Nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) executives surveyed for the quarterly Robert Half Professional Employment Report said they anticipate no changes to the size of their teams in the next three months. Five percent of respondents plan to add full-time, professional-level staff in the third quarter, while another 5 percent indicated they will make personnel reductions. Recruiting challenges continue to surface for executives - 69 percent of those interviewed said they are having difficulty finding people with the skills they need, up eight points from the second-quarter survey.

Earlier in the month, Congress and President Obama reauthorized legislation surrounding the Export-Import Bank, ultimately extending its lending authority for another two years and increasing its credit limits.

Spend analytic projects are often driven to meet key goals of the chief procurement officer and procurement organization, chiefly cost savings. However, there are also many different possible uses or goals for spend analytic tools and projects, which might be driven by other executives or offices as well.

Rizwan Asim, head of procurement and supply chain with SSC Al-Suwaidi Holding Co., discusses how integrated demand planning is helping Middle Eastern retailers to cope with a market boom.