What were the best supply chain presentations of 2007? Supply Chain Digest editor Dan Gilmore compiles his annual list, along with a fresh reminder that everyone in the presentation game needs to work hard to avoid too much blah, blah, blah. Always one of our most popular columns of the year!

Is your CEO the biggest barrier you have to supply chain improvement? A recent article in the Harvard Business Review says that may be the case in many companies, and offers seven areas where a CEO can engage the supply chain and really make a difference. Just as interesting are the anecdotes that show how common basic supply chain problems really still are.

This week, we focus on more letters from our readers on The Two Paths for DC Automation. We feature some of the best of our dozens of letters we received from SCDigest readers from around the world, offering a variety of perspectives. We know you will enjoy them.

What is the current state of supply chain collaboration? While there is much confusion about the topic, and lack of progress in many areas, examples of collaboration success from Hershey, Campbells Soup, Adtran and Fonterra show there is strong reason to be bullish on collaboration.

Our article suggesting there were two paths for distribution center automation - highly automated and manual, with the middle being squuezed - drew dozens of reader responses. We share some highlights of those reader comments here, some of which agree with our thesis, and some that do not.

The annual CSCMP conference in Philadephia was held this week. SCDigest was there, with full coverage and commentary on the conference itself and many of the key sessions. Whether you attended or did not, you will enjoy our written and video coverage.

After covering many twists and turns in what was a bit of an RFID "Soap Opera" in 2007, SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore shares his perspective on where we are at right now. So far, it has been Wal-Mart - and then everything else. The technology is becoming routine in many areas, and in retail, the action right now is for the marketing managers, not the supply chain.

Is the nearly two decade long "Wal-Mart era" in the consumer goods to retail supply chain ebbing? So says a recent Wall Street Journal story, along with other market indicators. What are the supply chain implications? We take a look.

The ROI from investments in supply chain and logistics software and automation are often dependent on efficiency gains that frankly mean reduced staffing levels - white collar or blue collar. That puts managers in a very tough spot - and often the headcount never really goes away. So did the company really save money? What is the answer here that works for everyone?

20 years after the concept was introduced, Sales and Operations Planning is still hot, with very few companies doing it well.