Analyst Insight: While on one hand the container shipping industry has become ever more commoditized, a new range of service measurements could increase the potential for market differentiation. The key to any differentiation is the ability to make it clear to the customer what the difference is. Such transparency would certainly be a novelty in the industry. - Lars Jensen, CEO, SeaIntel Maritime Analysis

Analyst Insight: When a conveyor in your warehouse is broken, but you're not sure how to fix it, what part needs to be replaced, or who can provide it to you, you risk losing both time and money. Enterprise asset management (EAM) and product lifecycle management (PLM) functionality can come to the rescue. - Gabriel Gheorghiu, research analyst, Technology Evaluation Centers

Analyst Insight: As the global economy slowly begins to improve, large-scale manufacturers who ship bulk product by rail are again experiencing the issues of service reliability, asset turnover, capacity constraints, working capital optimization and risk. With that said, after the dismal 2008-2009 economy, we're right back into the bane of a one-hundred-year rail dilemma: enhancing service reliability while improving fleet utilization to sustain a lean rail fleet. Current rail management tools are effective at tracking historical transit times and identifying the position of each car at a certain point in time. However, an important disconnect exists between seeing the future demand for rail shipments and predicting the usage and location of the cars over the entire enterprise planning horizon. - Alfred Sherk, CEO, SherTrack LLC

Analyst Insight: Procurement and sourcing is a continuously evolving profession. A global Gartner Supply Chain study of 453 companies finds 51 percent of procurement and sourcing talent hired in the last three years was to satisfy short-term needs, with a focus on basic, intermediate and advanced procurement and sourcing skill sets. Procurement and sourcing hiring strategies for 2012 shifts to long-term needs and advanced skills requirements in the areas of SRM, supplier collaboration, performance management and analytics, and financial procurement. - Mickey North Rizza, Gartner Supply Chain Research

Analyst Insight: It can be a struggle for organizations to obtain the right balance between keeping enough inventory on hand to meet customer demand and minimizing costs related to carrying inventory. APQC's research indicates that best-practice organizations achieve this balance through the creation of inventory optimization programs with well-designed strategies, effective processes, appropriate technology, and regular assessment. - Becky Partida, knowledge specialist, APQC

Analyst Insight: 2011 marked a watershed year in the way supply chain managers conceived of global practice. Natural disasters that shook up traditional global sourcing coupled with a growing willingness to rethink the value of lowest piece-part pricing led companies to reassess what it means to operate efficient, effective supply chains. Companies are rethinking and reconfiguring supply chains to be more rational, regional, practical, low in total cost and risk, and high in fostering quality and customer value - moving toward rational, lean value streams. - John Shook, chairman and CEO, Lean Enterprise Institute

Analyst Insight: It is common for high-tech companies to have established processes to ensure they are not overly dependent on too few suppliers. Far less common are processes or intelligence to ensure they are not overly dependent on a specific geographic region. But recent events have pushed the issue of risks from geographic concentration of the supply base to the forefront. - Bill McBeath, Chief Research Officer, ChainLink Research

Analyst Insight: Supply chain organizations over the past several decades have experienced the structural pendulum as it has swung from one extreme of specialization and parallel silos of expertise to another of all generalists with relatively limited experience in a number of organizations. New findings from a number of highly regarded supply chain organizations and research enterprises show the need for a balanced approach of specialists and generalists for truly world-class performance. - Michael G. Hasler, Ph.D., The University of Texas

Analyst Insight: The generally low-margin and high-waste food & beverage sectors will continue to increase their technology investments in 2012. Traceability, quality and fulfillment technologies are emerging with strong ROI, though compliance and traceability get much of the attention. No doubt global regulations on food safety may be somewhat of a catalyst, but companies say that the benefits are what really drive their investments. - Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research