Corporate social responsibility (CSR), a commitment to meeting or exceeding ethical, legal and commercial public expectations, not only helps make the world a better place, but is also increasingly critical to business results.

For many businesses, the past year exposed the fragility of their cash flow and working capital. The pandemic, coupled with supply chain disruptions and erratic consumer demand, wreaked havoc on companies facing both internal and external pressures.

Ben Ruddell, director and professor in the School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems at Northern Arizona University, offers a perspective on whether we can expect another wave of shortages of essential products on store shelves this year.

U.S. importers and exporters are bracing themselves for the possibility of a strike — or, at the very least, a damaging worker slowdown — by dockworkers at West Coast ports, as management and labor seek accord on a new longshore contract.

We’ve yet to attain the nirvana of supply always matching the demand. In attempting to do so, retailers strive to carry extra buffer at every outlet.