The newly launched Galaxy Note 7 left several customers burned and Samsung's reputation in flames after a manufacturing flaw in some of the devices led to a number of batteries catching on fire. The incident led to a recall of about 1 million of Samsung's flagship smartphone. We explore how incidents like this affect the global supply chain in a world where social media and instant access means news travels fast.

Brexit happened. And more protectionist measures may be on the horizon if the proposed trade policies of US presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump ever become laws. A recent survey of US executives gauges retailers’ anxiety levels on these types of risks. In this episode we take a look at the results, and examine how businesses prepare their supply chains for sudden, unexpected change.

Consumer products have had years of innovation in marketing and sales - from new digital channels to sentiment analysis to customization. All of it is to keep up with rapidly changing consumer demand. But what about the support structure for those innovations - the supply chain? Supply chains in consumer products have been struggling to keep pace with the front-end innovations and demands.