Industrial machinery production - which represents $1.6tr of the $3.8tr global industrial capital expenditure spending in 2013 - is the area to be most dramatically affected by advancing 3D printing technology, says Alex Chausovksy, senior principal analyst, industrial automation, at IHS.

In the world of supply chains, signing on a new partner or trading partner has typically marked the beginning of a marathon. Whether by electronic data interchange, EDIFACT, cXML, ebXML, value added networks, portals or the rest of the alphabet soup of connectivity approaches, a great deal of time and effort is required to get trading partners’ systems aligned - even if trading hubs are involved. Every company has a different system, and different processes for getting things done. For a company with thousands of trading partners, imagine how much in resources it gobbles up just to manage and keep every partnership aligned. Of course, cloud changes all that right?

MD Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, is increasing the biologic storage capabilities of its facility in Reno, Nev.

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of B2B buyers now purchase goods online, up from 57 percent last year, according to a recent report from the Acquity Group.