The idea is that rather than knowing that a delivery guy dropped ten cases of cola in the store, they'll know that five cases went on one end-of-aisle display and five cases went on another. They'll know how the product is moving through the store.

We're seeing a lot more activity trying to manage in-motion inventory, direct it to the place it needs to be and avoid disaster areas.

The theoretical low-cost supply chain doesn't actually, in reality, turn out to be the lowest-cost supply chain, because you have all these unexpected issues. Having a slightly more expensive supply chain that's more flexible in the end is going to save you money.

They're exploring applications that go beyond the kind of warehouse and storeroom applications we've been talking about with retail mandates.

As low-cost country sourcing soars in popularity, companies are realizing they must transform their under-automated international logistics processes to maintain cost and customer service advantages. Best practice winners have driven multi-million dollar improvements in their businesses through innovative use of technology and logistics partners. Instrumental to their success is their skill and obsession with gaining and maintaining organizational buy-in for their initiatives.

What once might have been a rounding error is suddenly seen as a critical part of the core business.