Was there ever a time when trade wasn't a polarizing subject? Judging from the endless debate, it's either the key to economic prosperity, or a catastrophe for the common worker. There seems to be no middle ground.

Humankind is forever striving for perfection. When it comes to the job of demand forecasting, however, perhaps we ought to be a tad less obsessive.

Some random themes and thoughts to emerge from Oracle Corp.'s Value Chain Summit in San Jose, Calif. last week:

And you thought that sponsorships for the Olympics were all about consumer products and services. Meet the Official Carbon Partner of the Sochi Games.

Call it the Holiday Retailing Death Match: Team Black Friday versus Team Cyber Monday. Brick-and-mortar versus e-commerce sales. Physical stores pitted against the power of the internet.

Is trade compliance nothing but a headache? Or can it be good for business?

During the just-wrapped Christmas shopping season, e-tailers were more aggressive than ever before in offering discounts and other kinds of come-ons to customers ordering over the internet. But they paid a high price for that strategy.

Will we ever get rid of those dreaded spreadsheets?

In the end, all outsourcing relationships are founded on trust. You can write a contract that drills down to the smallest details, but at some point you have to rely on the integrity of your partner. And when that trust is violated, the consequences can be severe.

If you're a supply-chain executive, there's a good chance that the next tsunami, hurricane, flood or other disaster will take your organization by surprise. Again.