Globalization - that irresistible force that was inevitably, inexorably making the world flat - looks to be in retreat. Trade growth has never recovered to the levels reached before the 2008 financial crisis. Donald Trump is fueling his presidential campaign on fear of free trade and immigration. The economic problems of the U.S., he blasted in a June speech, are "the consequence of a leadership class that worships globalism over Americanism." Then came Brexit, the worst setback for the European Union, that most ambitious experiment in globalization. Money manager Bill Gross said Brexit marks "the end of globalization as we've known it."

E2open, provider of a supply-chain operating network, has acquired Orchestro, a vendor of demand-signal repositories and preemptive analytics for retail and omnichannel fulfillment.

All the technology in the world won't protect you against the myriad of events that can severely disrupt a global supply chain.

Over the years, retailers have become very good at the supply chain - the process of getting goods from the manufacturing plant to the customer. But today, many retailers face a different challenge: taking those goods back, a process referred to as the "reverse supply chain."

Consumers expect seamless access to brands -- and their history with those brands -- on every channel they visit, and business shoppers are no exception.

Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports should see a small-but-significant increase this month as merchants stock up for the back-to-school season, then see a larger wave in late summer and fall for the holiday shopping season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.