Numerous factors are responsible for congestion in the retail supply chain. Mike Curtin, senior vice president of apparel and soft goods with Logility, explains what companies are doing to overcome those hurdles.

Global supply chains are by their very nature complex, but data analytics offers an opportunity to simplify planning and forecasting, and create more resilient sourcing, production and distribution, says Melissa Koeman, client executive with Varis.

The ocean freight industry is greatly in need of a way to automate and digitize the contracting process — and so is every other stage of the supply chain, says Matt Marshall, senior vice president with NYSHEX.

Will mounting debt be the factor that finally plunges the economy into recession?

Does blockchain truly hold promise for creating a more efficient supply chain, or will it be dragged down by the lead weight known as Bitcoin? 

The life of the drayage trucker in “normal” times is a difficult one. And these times are anything but. Drew Herpich, chief commercial officer with Transportation Insight and Nolan Transportation Group. He discusses the pressures that are weighing on drivers today, and the prospects for relief.

The answer is yes: Customers are increasingly demonstrating a commitment to sustainable shipping, even if that means waiting a bit longer for their orders to arrive, says TJ Roberts. vice president of enterprise accounts with Sifted.

Seth Marks, chief merchandising officer with Channel Control Merchants, details the major issues that logistics providers are facing as they deal with increasing volumes of returned products.

Retailers and suppliers face multiple headwinds, but they should be looking at the situation as an opportunity to cut costs and streamline supply chains, says Jason Murray, chief executive officer of Shipium.

Is sales and operations planning obsolete? Not at all, says Evan Quasney, vice president of solutions marketing with Anaplan. But there's a need for organizations to take a deeper approach to connected planning, to achieve competitive advantage.