Getting customers whatever they need whenever they need it, and as quickly as they expect it, has become easier. Yet the returns process has some retailers winning and others floundering.

After a long period of economic turmoil, manufacturers in the United States are finding reasons to be optimistic. Demand is up and companies are seeing improvements in productivity, along with increases in profits. For this upward trajectory to continue, however, industry executives and governmental representatives cannot be complacent. Production efficiency, energy costs, tax legislation and education access are integral to the success of the industry's current fiscal condition and need to be nurtured or reformed. If the current business environment is to last, there is still more work to do.

HighJump Software is slating a new release of the HighJump One Platform for the third quarter of 2015.

Susan Parker, director of purchasing and logistics with Kenmark Eyewear, defines the essentials of social and regulatory compliance, and describes how companies can achieve excellence on both fronts.