Before the cloud - before the commercial internet - there were communications networks that linked manufacturers with their suppliers. How effective they were is another matter entirely.

Intermodal is on a roll.

More predictions for the future of supply-chain management, courtesy of a panel of industry insiders at the fifth annual seer-fest sponsored by the San Francisco Roundtable of the Council of Supply-Chain Management Professionals:

Never mind those expert consultancies and handsomely compensated analysts who purport to tell us the future of supply-chain management. The real answers can be found in an event that's held once a year in the heart of Silicon Valley. With dinner thrown in as well.

It's no secret that working conditions in overseas factories are often miserable. Manufacturers and retailers, bombarded by decades of public outcry, have had plenty of time to do something about it. So why are we still having this discussion?

All the best intentions in the world can't guarantee that a company is complying with the volumes of laws and regulations that govern international trade.

The wireless telecommunications business is, to put it mildly, competitive.

Trucking companies say they're feeling the pinch from the new Hours of Service (HOS) restrictions imposed on them earlier this year. But the industry was already suffering from an acute driver shortage before it shouldered that additional burden.

Black Friday looms, and with it the onset of the year's peak retail shopping season.

Life in the laundry room used to be so simple.