The shift to online retailing over the last five years finally caught up to and overran U.S.-wide delivery capacity during last year's holiday season. According to Forrester Research, online retail sales will grow by an additional 60 percent over the next five years. This kind of sea change has stretched the ability of physical networks to keep up and the shortage of drivers had further exacerbated this situation. Instead, technology has become more important to meeting retailers' holiday delivery challenges by helping to improve the productivity of existing resources and offer a greater array of delivery services being demanded by consumers.

In Stanley Kubrick's Cold War black comedy "Dr. Strangelove," the Soviets have developed a devastating "Doomsday Device," to be triggered by a nuclear attack on the U.S.S.R. It's supposed to act as a deterrent, but has been kept a secret. Asks an exasperated American president of the Russian ambassador: "Why didn't you tell the world?" To which the ambassador replies: "The Premier loves surprises."

Coming soon to a city near you - an Amazon.com store?

Supply chains are becoming more complex in order to support the increasingly diverse levels sizes and needs of new suppliers and customers. There are so many variables that can go into a single sale, like selling across multiple channels, delivering products directly versus delivering through drop shipments, and selling items with one-time charges as well as recurring fees. This transformation is having a tremendous impact on organizations of all shapes and sizes. As supply chain complexity builds, it's important that companies aren't spending more time entering and managing data rather than focusing on growing their business. They should have a well-integrated, audited and secure system that can be precisely reported on at every level.

BlueStar Inc., a global distributor of ADC, mobility, point-of-sale, radio frequency identification, digital signage and security technology, is now offering the Granit 1280i, a handheld laser scanner.

The condition of emerging-market economies seems to seesaw from week to week. But one thing remains constant: the failure of a lot of companies to shore up their supply chains in those countries with up-to-date information technology.