Material Handling & Logistics -- The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology surveyed its nearly 8,000 members to reveal the top 10 workplace trends for 2015.

Reuters -- United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp (FDX.N) are rolling out new pricing systems to curb online retailers' large package sizes, but industry experts warn many small firms are unprepared and could pay up to 50 percent more for shipping.

Starting Monday, UPS will no longer charge for U.S. ground packages under 3 cubic feet by weight but by their "dimensional weight."

Industry Week -- Manufacturers and multinational firms with globally scattered manufacturing facilities and operations have emerged from the economic downturn lean and mean. They are in fighting shape, having stripped non-essential costs and investments to the bone. But as they take a deep breath, business issues on the horizon demand even more stringent and strategic planning.

Most cash-depleted firms have put off technology and equipment investments and acquisitions for years. Many have not mined the massive amount of valuable data that can optimize operations and drive revenue. Many have decided they need capital to build or rebuild their manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Some are eight years into a 10-year equipment investment cycle.

Modern Materials Handling -- Sales of robots for palletizing, logistics, packaging, and materials handling are projected to grow at a 10.1% CAGR and reach $31.3 billion by 2020.

These are among the findings of London-based WinterGreen Research’s Industrial Logistics Robots report, for which 25 market leaders and an additional 40 market participants were interviewed.

EBN -- The information highway that will take the electronics industry to supply chain transparency is littered with technology roadblocks. Data is obscured in silos scattered across OEMs and distributors, preventing supply chain participants from getting anything approaching a comprehensive picture.

Removing these roadblocks is a complicated problem that can be simplified if we divide them into two basic categories.

Supply Chain Digital -- Looking ahead to 2015, KPMG predicts the New Year will be about co-operation and relationship building, understanding and utilising big data, drone and driverless deliveries and creating marketplaces to sell last mile solutions.

The company stated co-operation is likely to be a critical feature for successful supply chains in 2015. Logistics companies and retailers, both on the high street and on the web, will have to develop close relationships so that they don’t keep repeating the annual trauma of delivering the Christmas peak. 

Tech Crunch -- It may surprise many of you to learn that Dell Computer was the highest appreciating tech stock of the 90s. This success was grounded not in marketing or product, but primarily behind the scenes in a revolutionary approach to supply chain.

Fast forward to 2014 and the most recent Cyber Monday. The current heavyweight incumbent in e-commerce, Amazon, featured distribution center technology powered by Kiva Systems in this year’s Cyber Monday press blitz (disclosure: Bain Capital was an investor in Kiva Systems).

Material Handling & Logistics -- If you could have only one warehouse in your national network, then Vincennes, Indiana, would be the best place to locate your facility, as Vincennes tops the list of the ten best warehouse networks, according to a new study from Chicago Consulting.

"Best" is defined as those networks that are closest to the U.S. population and the time it takes to get products to customers.

Environmental Leader -- A reliable, secure supply chain for minerals and metals is vital to keeping US manufacturing competitive and sustainable, write the National Mining Association’s Hal Quinn and the Reshoring Initiative’s Harry Moser in an article on Material Handling & Logistics.

The authors cite a survey of manufacturing executives, commissioned by the NMA, which found US manufacturers are concerned about how the supply of minerals and metals can affect their businesses.

Manufacturing Business Technology -- Today's consumers have the ability to purchase what they want whenever, however and wherever, putting them in total control of the market. With mobile and eCommerce on the rise, omni-channel fulfillment is becoming more and more important. Ready or not, businesses and their supply chains need to move at the speed of the internet to keep up. 

This technological evolution has brought about many arguments on the best solutions for omni-channel fulfillment. The on-premise vs. cloud debate has become the civil war of the supply chain industry.

MHI Blog -- When Paul Jensen, Division President of MHI Member Matthews Automation Solutions (comprised of Matthews Marking Systems, Holjeron, Lightning Pick and Pyramid Controls, thinks about the types of innovations required by supply chains to meet the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics’ vision of 2025, he thinks "data."

"The management and integration of data is one of the leading opportunities, and challenges, for supply chains—not just in the United States, but worldwide," he explains. "With the rise of cloud computing and its ability to manage, manipulate and analyze information via the Internet, companies have unprecedented opportunities to better leverage their supply chains and increase their service offerings—and sales."

Progressive Railroading -- For the week ending Dec. 27, U.S. railroads logged 252,100 carloads, up 9.2 percent, and 181,238 intermodal units, up 5.4 percent compared with volumes from the same week in 2013, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Total combined weekly traffic rose 7.6 percent to 433,338 units as nine of 10 carload commodity groups posted gains, led by motor vehicles and parts at 41.6 percent, nonmetallic minerals at 26.3 percent and coal at 9.9 percent. The lone decliner was forest products traffic, which dipped 2.5 percent. 

SupplyChainBrain -- E-commerce, the ever-present risk of supply disruptions, volatile and unpredictable consumer demand – they're all combining to create global supply chains with more complexity than ever before. Valerie Bonebrake, senior vice president of Tompkins International, describes the challenge, and offers some solutions.

The need to source and sell product in multiple parts of the globe has created "a vast amount of challenges," says Bonebrake. Companies must wrestle with the complexities of sourcing from new countries and selling into new markets. To achieve that goal, Tompkins recommends that they align their supply chains with their overall business strategy. 

Forbes -- Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) may not be the best role to opt for at the moment, at any publicly listed company.

Transparency is rising, like it or not, all the way up to the boardroom. So is digital empowerment: even villagers in India with no running water manage to access the internet on their mobile phones. One photograph shared on Twitter  can cause a corporate media storm. Perhaps if someone had taken one of the conditions at Rana Plaza and shared it before the disaster in Bangladesh, things would have played out differently.