Getting bad publicity, losing customers and being subject to criminal consequences are just a few of the risks an organization can face when its procurement professionals are unaware of constantly changing social responsibility concerns.

Thirty-seven percent of more than 5,000 respondents reported economic crime in their organizations, with the categories of bribery and corruption and cybercrime experiencing notable growth, according to PwC in its latest Global Economic Crime Survey.

So-called "adversarial procurement" practices among large retailers are a threat to the "integrity of the food industry", according to a major report into the horse meat scandal in Europe.

Across Asia and the Middle East, rising incomes and accelerating investment in infrastructure have attracted multinationals eager to expand their global presence. But success in these high-growth emerging markets (HGEMs) often proves elusive.

The value of exports from America's foreign-trade zones increased by 13.7 percent in 2013, to a record high $79.5bn in merchandise exported, according to figures released by the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board in its Annual Report to Congress. At $835.8bn, the 2013 value of received merchandise into FTZs also reached a new high, surpassing the previous year’s record of $732.2bn – a 14.1 percent increase.