New MerQube Freight Waves Index tracks the performance of the supply chain and logistics industry, reports FreightWaves.

The MerQube FreightWaves Supply Chain Tech Index — the first index to track the performance of the supply chain and logistics industry — was launched Tuesday. Companies on the index have a minimum float market cap of $500 million and a minimum average daily value traded of $3 million

Big retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Target are spending money on improvin their supply chain tech, reports CNBC.

When the economy slows down, the classic response for consumer businesses is to cut back: slow hiring, maybe lay off workers, slash marketing, or even slow the pace of technology investment, delaying projects until after business has picked up again.

The global supply chain is in need of a serious technology upgrade, reports Forbes.

I’ve often spoken about the manual state of the global supply chain, but many in the industry are still unaware of how big this problem is.