As work piles up in our in-boxes and on our desks, the question should occur-what important issues am I missing? It is an interesting fact that a high percentage of our critical work and the data we use to make decisions are still outside the operations systems we have-ERP, accounting, modeling and decision support.

More than 40 percent of companies that outsource intend to conduct a bid or rebid for part of their network to a logistics service provider within the next 12 months, according to the Outsourced Distribution Report by Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium.

Corporate executives and workers from dozens of refineries, glass-makers and other business groups bombarded members of the California Air Resources Board with complaints about an upcoming auction of credits allowing them to release greenhouse gases.

Manufacturing is one industry that is wasting data for lack of the means to quickly and effectively analyze it.

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.

The methods for measuring quality in the automotive industry are outdated and in need of replacement, according to a study detailed by AIAG, a not-for-profit organization that works with global manufacturing companies and service providers to help them operate at peak performance.

Despite pending regulations, most shipowners have refused to commit to an onboard ballast water treatment system. Yet port-based treatment has the potential to be a temporary or even permanent solution.