A conversation with Edgar Blanco, research and executive director, SCALE Latin America, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics.

Much of the business of Levand Steel & Supply Corp. centers around getting counterweights to the world's largest mining-equipment makers. A recent delivery, by barge, posed some unusual challenges for the 3PL.

The maker of a highly specialized living tissue to treat diabetes sufferers takes a chance on creating a second distribution point for its product - with the strictest possible requirements for climate control.