By now we’ve celebrated, we’ve reminisced, we’ve toasted the year, and we’ve probably given some thought to our New Year’s resolutions. If some of you haven’t, though, you’re not alone. The Washington Post reported early last year that just less than half of people make resolutions.

It’s the season of gift giving and charity. Like most businesses, food banks across the nation are realizing success from inventory management best practices, especially as they manage the increase in donations received from November through December. The Wall Street Journal reports how Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee uses software to handle its supplies.

After two weeks of negotiation in Paris, 196 countries agreed Saturday to limit climate change by regulating the emissions experts say cause global warming.

Automation is not just a phenomenon people encounter in the movies but in real life at movie theaters, airports, banks—the list goes on and on. The real question we are left grappling with is: How will automation affect our own jobs and the workforce as a whole?

Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, is expanding its business in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to CNN. Its products now reach 30–40 percent of that continent’s population. That’s 300–400 million people.

Yesterday, we celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States. The holiday is meant to give us the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends that for which we are thankful. However, sometimes we get distracted by football, food, travel, or something else. Our working environments also can present us with distractions that make us forget what’s important.

The future of supply chain is bright, yet complex. This isn’t surprising to anyone reading Supply Chain Management Now. But, how do professionals prepare and succeed? Last Thursday, APICS hosted at its corporate offices the “Beyond the Horizon Roundtable Forum,” in which participants discussed the key issues of talent and leadership; integrated solutions; and risk, complexity, and sustainability.

Supply chain is about more than products; it’s about people. Therefore, it’s no surprise that effective supply chains encompass professionals who collaborate. Forbes highlighted that kind of successful collaboration this week in an article outlining Alcoa’s innovation in providing materials for customers Pratt & Whitney and Ford.

Last week, GreenBiz highlighted an issue that is gaining attention throughout organizations including APICS—supply chain transparency. Dedication to supply chain transparency can lower risk exposure and maximize supply chain’s impact to the organization’s bottom line.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems have been used in factories, warehouses, and retail locations for inventory management for years, and now hospitals are starting to pick up the technology as well. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, hospital leaders are looking to add services but constrain costs, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.

In the past two years, Ford, Toyota, and Holden have announced they would stop making cars in Australia by 2017. Last week, The Sydney Morning Herald closely examined what that means for Australian suppliers and manufacturing employees.

Last week, 12 nations reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is aimed at lowering trade barriers to goods and services and establishing enforceable rules related to labor and the environment. In short, it’s the world’s largest free-trade agreement, with member countries accounting for 40 percent of the world’s economic output.

Upon returning from APICS 2015 in Las Vegas, I have time to reflect on the excellent speakers I heard (and interviewed), motivated people I met, and invigorating conversations I had. APICS was proud to welcome Jack Welch, legendary management expert and best-selling author, to the stage for the conference’s opening general session.

In the last 50 years, major financial quakes have occurred every seven years, on average, according to The Wall Street Journal. And, in case you’re doing the math, the last major financial downturn, which was in October 2008, was seven years ago.

This week, the news is filled with damning headlines for Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker Volkswagen. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleged last Friday that the company had programmed its software on its diesel vehicles made between 2008 and 2015 to “trick” emissions testing regulators.

At APICS, we spend a lot of time talking about industry-specific knowledge and principles, but there are other factors that contribute to the success of individuals. One example is management and what it takes to be a successful leader. This week, theHarvard Business Review featured an article by Carol A. Walker titled “New Managers Need a Philosophy about How They’ll Lead.”

Self-driving cars aren’t only a pipedream for the future; Google is testing them right now in Austin, Texas, and Mountain View, California. Aiming to introduce its self-driving cars by 2020, Google began experimenting with its souped-up Lexus sport utility vehicle this July in Austin with no accidents thus far.

Recent news about Boeing’s supplier snag haven give me, and I hope many of you, a reality check about supply chain goals. The major aerospace manufacturer set a lofty goal of expanding production of its 737 Max jetliner from less than one a month to 52 planes a month by the end of the decade, an unprecedented ramp-up.

Many women in supply chain have expressed to me the unique challenges they face in the profession. Their situations are not unlike those that female engineers encounter, which were described in a Fortune Insider commentary by Erin Brooks.

Not only have last week’s portside warehouse explosions in Tianjin, China, created persistent logistics challenges, but news reports now are suggesting that at least two other hazardous chemical facilities were operating in the area in violation of government regulations, posing more potential risks for residents and business operations in the area, The Guardian reports.

As various recalls, raw material sourcing problems, and worker rights issues have shown us, traceability continues to be an important and even highly desired aspect of supply chain. However, we know that keeping track of every aspect of the supply chain can be challenging.

When I first started this newsletter in 2008, it was the height of the recession. As I talked to people in the APICS community, I learned how critical supply chain and operations management were becoming to business leaders and executives as they sought answers to some very dire challenges. This newsletter was—and continues to be—a tool to help supply chain and operations management professionals understand their crucial role in overall business and economic health.

Leaders at United Sprits Limited (USL), in which Diageo has a majority stake, want to get more liquor into the hands of consumers in India—a very attractive market. According to The Economist, people in India drink liquor rather than beer or wine for two reasons.

For this week’s post, I’m going to start at the end—at least the end of the article: “Global supply chain is a meaningless term,” says Harvard Business School Professor Gary P. Pisano in a Forbes article.

What do wetsuits, gloves, angioplasty balloons, and car tires have in common? The answer: rubber. And although synthetic rubber can be manufactured, it’s not as strong as natural rubber. If you are on an airplane or riding in a car, you want the tires to be sturdy enough to do their job, which means they have to be made of at least 50 percent natural rubber.