Carousel and vertical lift module equipment increases floor space capacity and cuts costs, say Ed Romaine, chief marketing officer, Sapient Automation, and David Schneider, marketing manager for Hanel Storage Systems.

The unloading dock is all important to boosting efficiency and productivity throughout one's warehouse and distribution facility, says Ryan Howard, vice president of business development for Inbound Technologies. Labor-management technology uses the best of team and individual incentive methodologies to increase productivity, maintain quality standards and keep workers safe.

Volatility, globalization, higher customer expectations and new-product introductions are the "enemy" of the supply chain, and inventory and capacity are costly ways of combating them, says Puneet Saxena, vice president of industry strategies at JDA Software.

"Sales Carbon Operations Planning" (SCOP) offers a new take on supply-chain management, bringing together traditional sales and operations planning (S&OP) techniques and the need for companies to track and reduce their carbon emissions. "It's my way of making it easy to transfer into sustainability with your existing processes," says Silvia Leahu-Aluas, owner of Sustainable Manufacturing Consulting. The new term covers everything from basic carbon dioxide management to a full understanding of the economic and environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions.

Today's ERP systems often have much of the needed supply chain management software, they are interoperable, and with them collaboration and visibility problems are minimized, says Mike Tatara, product marketing manager, Epicor Software Corp. In addition, they are highly efficient information repositories.

There are good reasons why a formal process for conflict resolution is necessary in the context of supply chains, says Stewart L. Levine, founder of ResolutionWorks. The very nature of supply chains, with their panoply of internal and external partners, gives rise to conflict. What's needed, he says, "is a conversational process whereby you can teach people how to move through conflict."

Dow Kokam was created in 2009 by Dow Chemical, TK Advanced Battery and Dassault to bring technologically advanced and economically viable battery solutions to the industrial market. The company believes demand will quickly grow for commercial vehicles powered by its large-format, lithium-ion batteries, soon to be produced in Michigan. Regular route and local delivery trucks are strong candidates for electrification, says Senior Director Clark Dressen.

A conversation with Jim Van Leenan, CEO and president of Flash Global Logistics.

Innovation in consumer packaged goods isn't a luxury in today's competitive market - it's a necessity. In an uncertain economic environment, most companies are struggling to achieve organic growth. "Driving both the top and bottom line has been elusive," says Girish Gulvady, director of integrated demand management and food service planning with Campbell Soup Co. "Innovation is filling that void."

Having information and processes trapped in operational silos is a continuing problem that keeps many businesses from performing as well as they should, says Paul Boris, vice president of collaborative manufacturing at SAP, in an interview with Greg Gorbach, vice president-collaborative manufacturing, ARC Advisory Group