Downtime is the enemy of lean. Downtime is, in fact, waste. Idled lines do not add value. Restarting production after unplanned downtime requires more effort, usually expended with less efficiency and worker productivity. This reintroduces waste, which creates added costs that customers do not pay for, yet must be absorbed into cost of goods sold.

Kewill has developed version 5.0 of its Kewill Trade software, which manages the direct dispatch of goods from supplier to customer or store, for multichannel, catalogue and internet retailers.

Challenge: Highly complex processes in global sourcing of customer goods require the right tools to perpetually monitor and optimize them. A single version of the truth can only be achieved through collaboration with all different partners in the value chain.

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.

Starbucks, Johnson + Johnson, Sprint and 16 other companies have sent a letter to Congress, urging elected officials to extend the wind production tax credit (PTC) before it expires at the end of 2012.

Looking at the 12-month period ending with July 2012, the winery-to-consumer shipping channel has grown to $1.35bn, representing 8.6 percent of the total U.S. wine retail market, according to a report from ShipCompliant and Wines + Vines Magazine.

India is changing, growing and shifting its weight in anticipation of greater maritime independence as a result of much-needed port and terminal development.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lost a bid to dismiss an 11-year-old gender discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of workers in California after the U.S. Supreme Court barred a lawsuit representing Wal-Mart employees nationwide.

Aldata, a vendor of software for retailers and distributors, has introduced Aldata Mobile Shelf Execution.

Building a profitable service is difficult because grocery stores have painfully low margins. Remember dot-com flameouts HomeGrocer and Webvan? Peapod, a pioneer in the space, still delivers in such cities as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, but recently it's resorted to opening actual pickup locations to make the model work. FreshDirect has come as close as anyone to building a brand around home grocery delivery, but it remains small, operating primarily in the New York area. Yet, Amazon seems poised to move into the business in at least two California cities.