Most countries within the region are landlocked and as such transportation, forecasting, and inventory management are key.

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Still, he concedes there are signs that the semiconductor industry's key inventory measure, the book-to-bill ratio, has bottomed out.

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Lately Puma's margins have been thinning under the burden of quick expansion and excess inventory at a key vendor, Foot Locker.

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The reduction in inventory liquidation has been key to economic growth starting in the second half of 2009.

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Growing demand and limited inventory is propping up another key aspect of the housing market as well: builder confidence.

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But now we are seeing stabilization in some key figures like industrial production and inventory levels, as well as signs of improvement in the housing sector.

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The key will be to see how much inventory increases over the next few months.

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Philip Morris Companies Inc. says it may buy back-up electrical generators for key plants, and rent additional warehouse space to stockpile inventory.

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The baseline valuation for an online retailer will probably include the inventory and a capitalization of earnings, revenues, and whatever other key metric is used to value such a business.

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Such networks are already revolutionizing inventory control and fleet management, and are set to play a growing role in key social sectors like healthcare, through e-health applications, education, through remote learning and teacher training, and environmental management through applications like smart grids, monitoring systems and smart buildings.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES