Global dry cargo demand growth, forecast at 5 percent per annum from 2016 to 2019, should be offset by falling project cargo volumes over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the latest edition of the Multipurpose Shipping Market Review and Forecaster, published by Drewry Maritime Research.

Applying leverage in negotiations results in a zero-sum outcome where one side wins and the other side loses. This typically means that the winner ends up with somewhat more than 50 percent of their hoped-for result and the loser gets somewhat less than 50 percent since, just as in sports competitions where the potential results are win-lose, lose-win and tie, the use of leverage doesn't allow for combined outcomes above 100 percent. Zero-sum outcomes not only create a relational imbalance, they create hard feelings. People who lose in one negotiation often do their best to turn the tables the next time such that they win - and you lose.

SKUs, SKUs and more SKUs. Rob Dolci, chief information officer with System Group and country manager with Aizoon, talks about the challenge of dealing with retail SKU proliferation, and how companies can sort through the impending chaos.

Ford Motor Co. is moving to automatically update its cars' infotainment systems using Microsoft's Azure cloud service.

Cosmetics company Sephora is rolling out a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon solution to provide content related to a shopper's proximity when that customer uses Sephora's app on an Apple iPhone. The beacon system is slated to be rolled out to all of the company's stores following a pilot of the solution that began in the fall at two San Francisco-area sites. The retailer has not indicated the timeline for the installation rollout. The beacons and content-management software are being provided by Gimbal.