The benefits of effective Sales & Operations Planning are compelling — lower operating costs, reduced inventory requirements, and top-line growth. The top-performing S&OP companies are realizing these benefits and in the process gaining competitive advantage. This article details the traits of the top performers and gives a practical approach to help others enhance their own S&OP performance level.

The North American logistics and distribution property market is improving following the recent economic downturn, said analysts for the London-based think tank, Transport Intelligence

The SDI Group today announced the acquisition of technology assets from AL Systems, Inc., of Rockaway, NJ. This acquisition expands SDI’s materials handling and order fulfillment software platform by adding RF-, light-, and voice-based paperless order picking and light-based order sortation and packing.

Chairman of the Board Allen J. Lauer, will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President, effective immediately, until a permanent successor is in place, and will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

Rice Lake Weighing Systems has announced the purchase of Measurement Systems International (MSI), a scale equipment manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington.

Suppliers, retailers and solution providers seeking help on efficient identification, serialization and placement of Electronic Product Code (EPC)-enabled RFID tags should benefit from new guidelines that were announced today by the Board of Directors of the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS).

Proponents have changed the conversation and have started tagging at the item level in what the industry is now calling a “source-to-store” approach.

To combat waste in the food supply chain, packaging companies are employing technology to monitor goods.

SATO, a pioneer in the Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) industry and a leader in barcode printing, labeling, and EPC/RFID solutions, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Achernar of Argentina, a privately held corporation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and one of the region’s most renowned providers of adhesive labeling solutions founded in 1971.

Sanjay Sarma, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor, and Mike Rose, Vice President of Supply Chain Visibility for Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc., have been elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the EPCglobal Board of Governors.