Some signs are subtle, like the “Whole Foods + Amazon” one near the bananas. Others are more obvious, like the kiosk with Amazon devices for sale.

Amazon is the great disruptor, in part because innovation is built into their culture. It’s in their DNA to try new things knowing some of them will fail, and they are experimenting and learning all the time. This cycle of innovation has enabled them to disrupt retail by raising customer expectations – anticipating what customers want and responding with new products and services before anyone else. Amazon is resetting customer expectations around convenience, speed, price and selection. -Robert Dold, Retail Industry Leader, Fortna

Some might call renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement a solution in search of a problem. Other might say it’s a necessary updating of the 23-year-old pact. One Canadian attorney specializing in international trade law calls it "a mess."

Over the past decade, businesses have accumulated a sea of data on their operations, customers and business practices. Businesses have attempted to consume this data to drive effective business solutions with limited success. We are at the precipice where solutions seamlessly consume traditional data and merge it with unstructured data to cohesively drive business planning and execution. -M. Scott Moon, Principal, Tompkins International

During the past few years, rail cargo transportation service prices have been on a slippery decline. Despite increasing demand, tanking fuel prices have laid the track for cheaper rail transportation during the past three years. While falling prices have been a welcome relief to shippers, carrier profitability has still been increasing due to steady demand and absent competition for many routes. However, service prices rebounded in 2017 and look to keep pushing higher over the next few years as oil prices recover further. -Connor DiGregorio, Research Analyst, IBISWorld Inc.

Picking the right metrics for your supplier relationship should not be about simply buying into the latest benchmarking data. Rather, it should be about aligning the right metrics for the purpose. For quality metrics, pick what is the "best fit," not the "best practice." This is especially important for strategic, long-term supply chain relationships. -Kate Vitasek, faculty member, University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business Administration; author of six books on the Vested business model; and Karl Manrodt, Professor of Logistics at Georgia College. He is the co-author of seven books and numerous academic articles.

The drive for cost cuts and higher margins at U.S. trucking and railroad operators is pinching their biggest customers, forcing the likes of General Mills Inc and Hormel Foods Corp to spend more on deliveries and consider raising their own prices as a way to pass along the costs.

Quality product data can be a real competitive advantage for companies that get it right. However, despite more anticipated disruption across industries in the year ahead, many supply chain professionals who realize the long-term benefits of data accuracy still struggle to gain support for comprehensive and effective data quality programs. -Angela Fernandez, Vice President, Retail Grocery and Foodservice, GS1 US

When Teva Pharmaceuticals announced recently that it would begin selling a copycat version of Syprine — an expensive drug invented in the 1960s — the news seemed like a welcome development for people taking old drugs that have skyrocketed in price.