In the late 1680s, a group of ship owners, merchants and ships' captains - in essence, the supply chain managers of the day - transformed global commerce by "inventing" business insurance. In 2015, the insurance industry will return the favor by supporting supply chain innovation through sharing the tools that insurers have depended on to predict and quantify risk. How and why (now) will that happen? And what do supply chain stakeholders need to do?

The Reusable Packaging Association has issued comprehensive protocols to ensure the continued safe use of reusable plastic containers (RPCs) for fresh and perishable products in the supply chain. The guidelines encompass washing, handling, storing, packing, displaying and collecting RPCs. They also include rigorous and defined Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), and hourly, daily, monthly, and quarterly microbiological testing.

Analyst Insight: There is now a false sense of security in supply chain risk management. Sixty-eight percent of companies believe they are better prepared than five years ago, yet supply chains experience an average of three material disruptions a year, according to Supply Chain Insights. Supply chain preparedness is for standard risk factors, such as financial viability, natural disasters, product quality, globalization and outsourcing. But, what about other risks and the security of supply chain? – Mickey North Rizza, VP Strategic Services, BravoSolution

Is it feasible to scan every one of the 15 million containers that enter U.S. ports each year? With a new technology, the long-term answer might well be yes.

Analyst Insight: In 2009, Dr. Robert Trent, Lehigh Supply Chain Management Department Chair, and I began to discuss supply chain risk in terms of how it was negatively impacting companies around the world. This dialogue led to capturing as much information available on the subject, codifying, classifying and developing a framework which became a graduate class in supply chain risk management and ultimately a new book, just launched, entitled Supply Chain Risk Management: An Emerging Discipline. – Gregory L. Schlegel, Founder, The Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium, and Adjunct Professor, Supply Chain Risk Management, Lehigh University