There was a time, not too long ago, when retail industry analysts were predicting that online merchandisers would soon stop offering free shipping on orders. How wrong they were.

Five years from now, the global work environment will look a lot different than it does today. But many companies aren't prepared to deal with the change.

You would think that proper risk management would be top of mind for high-tech supply chain executives. So why do they keep getting it wrong?

The nationwide driver shortage just won't go away. And shippers are paying the price.

Argue all you want about the reasons behind gridlock at U.S. West Coast ports, but one conclusion is inescapable: it proves the need for effective supply-chain risk management.

Traditional retailers aren't taking the challenge from pure e-tailers lying down. They can deliver on same-day orders, too.

In which we hear more insightful predictions about the coming year and beyond from Bay Area supply-chain executives.

The future of supply-chain management doesn't rest within a crystal ball or psychic's parlor. It can be found each fall, at a dinner and panel hosted by the San Francisco Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

Face it: There's no such thing as a supply-chain information-technology system that's completely invulnerable to cyber attack.

Back in 2011, in the midst of an intensifying debate about the impact of globalization, author and academic Pankaj Ghemawat voiced a view that was in sharp contrast to the prevailing wisdom on the subject: "We're not nearly as globalized as we think we are."