Dustin McIntire

This post is written by our friends at e2open. E2open is the connected supply chain software platform that enables the world’s largest companies to transform the way they make, move, and sell goods and services. Moving as one.™ Learn More: www.e2open.com.   Global supply chains are under pressure like never before, and disruptions aren’t rare events anymore—they’re structural, constant, and often originate outside your four walls. A single weak link in your supplier network can ripple across production schedules, customer commitments, and brand reputation. The old playbook of reacting to occasional crises doesn’t cut it. To thrive in 2025 and beyond, companies need real-time visibility, predictive insights, and agile execution. That’s where supply chain control tower technology comes in.   What is a supply chain control tower, really? A control tower acts as the command center for your supply chain. It gathers and visualizes data, analyzes disruption impacts, and provides actionable recommendations before problems escalate. Advanced solutions can even automate responses to routine issues and enable cross-functional collaboration to ensure that decisions aren’t just well-informed, they’re executed across the supply chain as well.   Why control towers matter now Supply chain risk isn’t a passing cloud; it’s a thunderstorm that…

Inside the reverse logistics education gap and the economic blind spot keeping it invisible Special Guest Blog Post written by Deborah Dull   Tony Sciarrotta has been asking the same question at industry conferences for years. As the Senior Director of Circularity and Reverse Logistics at the National Retail Federation, he knows what answer he’s going to get. But he keeps asking anyway. “Anybody in here go to school for returns management, reverse logistics, circularity? Any degrees in those fields the room?” It’s rare that anyone raises their hand. “That’s what’s wrong with our industry,” Sciarrotta told me at NRF Rev this January, the first conference under NRF’s new reverse logistics banner. “We still need to fix it.”   The Numbers That Should Make Headlines Here’s what makes reverse logistics so fascinating: the scale is staggering, but the infrastructure to support it needs to be stronger. According to the National Retail Federation, American retailers processed approximately $890 billion in returns in 2024 which is roughly 17% of all retail sales – and it’s higher for ecommerce. But that number almost certainly understates reality. “We have a fragmented industry,” Sciarrotta explained. “Where are all those returns going? It has to be…