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Business Strategy Alignment: Page 466

Would Keeping Research, Manufacturing Employees Together Make U.S. Companies More Innovative?

A growing chorus of economists, engineers and business leaders are warning that the evisceration of the manufacturing work force over the last 30 years might not have scarred just Detroit and the Rust Belt. It might have dimmed the country's capacity to innovate and stunted the prospects for long-term growth.

Holiday Retail Sales Expected to Top Those of Last Year By More Than 4 Percent

Eager holiday shoppers helped drive retail sales upwards in November, helping boost sales in the first half of the holiday season. According to the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, November retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.8 percent seasonally adjusted from October and increased 4.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year. With this news, NRF is still expecting holiday sales to grow 4.1 percent over last holiday season.

People Favor Mobile Payments - for Others, Poll Finds. They Want to Keep Their Cards and Cash.

If you're looking for more evidence of the bipolar nature of mobile shoppers, look no further. The Harris Poll people have what you need. In what should be called the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) effect, some 66 percent of Americans polled said they expect mobile payments to eventually replace payment cards and even cash-but not their cards and cash.

Obama Administration Has Disappointing Record on Trade

For two decades U.S. presidents have consistently shared views on the need for a "level playing field." President Bill Clinton in 1992, President George W. Bush in 2008, and, most recently, President Obama in this year's State of the Union: "Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you"”America will always win." Despite that shared rhetoric, the weakness of the U.S. economy over the past few years has helped obscure the Obama administration's disappointing record on trade.

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The Power of Design to Define the Brand

A conversation with Tom Sullivan, CEO of Princeton Partners.

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Your Input Sought for Survey on Business Priorities

Each year ChainLink Research conducts a survey to provide insights into the business challenges companies are confronting and what methods they may turn to-both human capital and technology-to address those challenges.

E-Procurement of Maintenance Services May Result in Big Savings

In the last two years, retailers and grocers that used e-sourcing to competitively procure facilities maintenance service contracts saved approximately 22 percent per event, according to data from Intesource.

Senior Executives and How They Can Better Balance People and Priorities

To assess organizational alignment, here are three simple questions for your business leaders: What are your company's ten most exciting value-creation opportunities? Who are your ten best people? How many of your ten best people are working on your ten most exciting opportunities?

A Definition of the 'Cloud' Might Be Useful

The last two years have brought an explosion of cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) provided in long-term subscription or on-demand models. Both new application providers and traditional enterprise software license firms have provided new versions of their software and services to ensure a market presence in these sectors of the technology market (though there are still a few hold-outs that sell only on-premise licenses).

Consumers of the Future Value Self-Service and Personalization, Study Finds

The consumer of the future will be more mobile, social and self-sufficient, willing to share details on themselves and their preferences in exchange for highly personalized relationships with their favorite stores, according to a new IBM consumer survey. The study also found that consumers' willingness to advocate for a particular retailer is becoming multifaceted, with consumers looking for a flawless experience, whether it's when they're researching, purchasing, or receiving delivery.

Demand Volatility Remains Top Concern of Supply Chain Management, Survey Says

Demand uncertainty is far and away still the top concern of supply chain mangers, according to a survey by LifeWork Search, an employee recruitment firm. Eighteen percent felt inventory surplus was the top concern, 12 percent voted for inventory shortage, while 8 percent believe lead times are the top holiday concern, and 3 percent chose "other".

Global Partnership Created to Harmonize Sustainability Programs

Two industry groups have joined to fill the need for a globally harmonized approach to measure and communicate product lifecycles. The Consumer Goods Forum, a global network of more than 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers and other stakeholders, has partnered with The Sustainability Consortium, which is dedicated to developing science and integrated tools to support informed decision making for product sustainability across the consumer goods industry.

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Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

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