If you use a cell phone or buy household electronics, there's a good chance you own a device with one or more components distributed by Avnet.

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan in March provided an important lesson for supply chain managers: we are often one disaster away from a major break in the way we conduct business.

A case study on the green redesign of the U.S. Postal Service's expedited shipping products shows the importance of supplier collaboration in meeting sustainability requirements and keeping cost increases at bay.

In the summer of 2007, after a tumultuous year in which millions of Chinese-manufactured toys and other products were recalled for reasons ranging from high lead content to choking hazards, Chinese officials launched a massive campaign to restore worldwide confidence in the "Made In China" label.

Detailed metrics not only help purchasing departments measure and analyze performance — they provide data that can spur organizational and procedural changes and help companies proactively prepare for the unexpected.

In September, the U.S. and Mexican governments took a tentative first step towards the final goal of allowing unfettered shipping between the two nations — a measure agreed upon under NAFTA but delayed since 1995.

Computer network problems cost American businesses $100 billion each year.

Tools to facilitate the full range of business processes proliferated over the past decade. Some firms base entire business models or product lines on such tools, while other traditional companies are looking for tools as a means to improve operational efficiency or processes.

Supply expense is the second highest operational cost in hospitals, but traditional healthcare benchmarking doesn't pinpoint factors that contribute to supply-expense performance, nor does it enable hospital supply chain professionals to see how they stack up against similar organizations.

What will a typical supply management organization look like in 10 years? It's hard to say for sure, but it likely will be complex, high-tech, supplier network-driven, and spread out across the globe.