Traditional supply chains will radically change over the next five to 10 years as a result of new technologies, competition and customer demands, according to a new study by MHI and Deloitte that was released during ProMat. On average, companies surveyed expect to invest heavily in new supply chain technologies over the next two years, with the top 17 percent spending over $10 million.

Companies across almost all sectors and regions are facing unprecedented disruption and challenges in their supply chains as they face increasing consumer expectations for better, faster and cheaper products.

Manufacturing and supply chain professionals gathered in record numbers in Chicago last month for ProMat 2015, the largest material handling and logistics trade expo in North America. With registrations topping 37,091 attendees, show producer MHI announces a 8.8 percent attendance jump over 2013.

Demand for top talent increases as supply chain volumes and complexity rise, but the supply of that talent is decreasing according to a new white paper titled Supply Chain Talent – Our Most Important Resource but the University of Tennessee Global Supply Chain Institute. The ability to ensure supply chain talent will determine business success in the coming decades.

Our economic expectations have not changed in the past quarter; we still expect solid U.S. economic growth in 2015. This growth is likely to be accompanied by downside risks to global growth, benign materials costs that rise later in the year, and volatile foreign exchange markets.

What’s keeping you up at night?" It’s the question we’ve all been trained to ask when we want to understand the big challenges that our colleagues are facing. And for supply chain executives these days, the answers almost always involve people. How do we find, train and retain the talent that we need to sustain and grow our companies?

This year, MHI is kicking off two Solution Groups—Automation Alliance (AA) and Information Systems (IS)—as part of the association’s effort to tout more holistic solutions to end-users by positioning MHI and its member companies as authoritative resources on material handling and supply chain topics.

Automatic guided vehicle (AGV) systems move parts and materials in many industries. For manufacturers, however, AGV systems can do more than carry parts and materials from location to location. They can form the actual assembly lines where the parts and materials are put together. Assembly lines at Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Harley Davidson, John Deere and Yamaha are composed of AGV systems.

Predictions about the future of logistics often include scenarios of driverless trucks loaded with goods cruising effortlessly down the highway and flying drones departing from warehouses to make last-mile deliveries of consumer goods. Will such visions become a reality? Despite anticipated benefits to automated driving and delivery systems, technological, legislative and other barriers could slow their adoption.

Supply chain management is getting an adrenaline shot in the arm with emerging wearable and mobile technologies. From smart glasses, to voice-directed hands-free wearable scanners, to real-time views of every touchpoint within the supply chain via mobile devices, manufacturers, distributors and their partners are experimenting with various technologies to expedite processes, improve worker safety and increase transparency within the supply chain to proactively free up potential bottlenecks.

Cloud computing has played a critical role in the improvement of supply chain management by supporting an enterprise’s efforts to share data with multiple partners across many different locations throughout the world.

For operations serving customers through e-commerce and omni-channel distribution, picking the right locations for warehousing comes down to a whole host of factors. Not least among them, of course, is cost.

On "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Captain Jean-Luc Picard often pondered the week’s signature conundrum over a cup of comfort. "Tea. Earl Gray. Hot," he’d say to the Replicator, and a moment later it would materialize.

We’re not quite there just yet, but at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we got one giant step closer with the debut of COOKI, the prototype for a robot that, in conjunction with an app that knows what fresh ingredients are available in your fridge, can present a list of recipes that work within those parameters and bring it all together right there in your kitchen.

In addition to 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of MHI, it is also the 30th anniversary of MHI-sponsored ProMat. At its core, ProMat provides attendees with access to the latest material handling, logistics equipment and technologies. But it has also evolved to become an internationally revered brand that represents the largest expo for manufacturing and supply chain professionals in North America.

It is generally recognized that companies around the globe are faced with an acute shortage of qualified supply chain talent at the early and mid-career levels. One of the ways to effectively address this shortage is through developing closer, more collaborative relationships between businesses and the colleges and universities that deliver such key talent, either through supply chain and logistics degree programs or non-credit training.

By all accounts ProMat was the biggest and best in its 30-year history. Below are some links to coverage for ProMat as well as for ProMat sponsor MHI.

The U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics devoted an entire section to the twin challenges faced by the industry: demographics and skill sets. A rapidly changing workforce, inadequately defined career paths, and a lack of industry appeal to potential labor pools are key demographic challenges. Skills challenges include a training and education network too small to meet projected demand for skilled workers, inadequate skills of both existing and incoming workers, and a poorly connected training and education network.

The College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) and the Order Fulfillment Solutions Council (OFS) recognized the winners of the 2013-2014 Material Handling Student Design Competition at ProMat 2015. The 2013-2014 case was developed by Reddwerks, Corp. and focused on the picking processes at ABC, Inc, a major retail chain with over 200 brick-and- mortar stores.

These days, food and beverage is focused on fresh—and that’s not just in kitchens and restaurants. From farm to fork, the industry is under tremendous pressures that require new approaches.

For a snapshot of the pressures on food and beverage, look to the category of non-alcoholic beverages, once dominated by a handful of carbonated beverage producers. These days, there are energy and sports drinks, water, pseudo-healthy, fruit juices and more.

Despite the introduction of robotic and other mechanical means of moving materials, manual material handling (MMH) is still an essential part of the supply chain process. To minimize the injuries from the repetitive motion involved in MMH means companies must introduce ergonomic interventions. Two major factors impact the need to improve MMH methods: the available pool of workers and market demands.

MHI announced the MHI 2015 Innovation and Young Professional Award winners at their 70th Anniversary Celebration during ProMat 2015.

MHI has a strong history of bringing member companies together into groups focused on specific products (Product Groups). MHI is now dedicating additional resources to the development of Solution Groups.