All the uncertainty surrounding global trade and the economy doesn't appear to have put a dent in the market for supply-chain talent.

Analyst Insight: By 2025, issues such as globalization, social transparency, risk management and sustainability will bring new challenges to all the best procurement organizations around the world. For diverse suppliers, these changes will pose new challenges, while bringing new opportunities for those with a vision for the future. - Angie Li, Partner; Curtis Simpson, Manager; Kirsty A. McNally, Manager, all with Advisory Services of Ernst & Young LLP

Delivering more than $10m in cost savings, spearheading a new global distribution model and driving a start-up's exponential growth are among the outstanding personal achievements of young professionals named winners in the ThomasNet and Institute for Supply Management 30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars Recognition Program.

Here's a question for U.S. exporters who were grievously harmed by the West Coast longshore labor slowdown in late 2014 and early 2015: Would it make you feel any better to learn that you were the victims of "a street brawl"?

Analyst Insight: Labor costs are rising just as the availability of workers is shrinking and turnover is increasing. According to the Census Bureau, 60 million Baby Boomers will exit the workforce by 2025, but only 40 million new workers will enter. Companies must rethink how they bridge that gap and keep costs in-line. Many life sciences companies are reaching a scale where investments in automation help replace manual, labor-intensive operations. But companies must be careful in evaluating automation investments. - Roger Counihan, Life Sciences Industry Leader, Fortna Inc.

It is the human rights abuse that everybody likes to maintain is not happening. But within corporate supply chains across the developing world – from the cocoa-growing lands of the Ivory Coast to the seafood sector of Thailand – human trafficking and modern day slavery is still commonplace, with people being made to work and live in appalling conditions with little or no pay.

There's a good chance that your corporate training program isn't up to snuff.