Supply Chain Insights recently announced the winners of the Supply Chains to Admire for 2015. This research identifies companies that outperformed their industry peer group in four key metrics: Year-over-year growth, Inventory Turns, Operating Margin and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)—while driving improvement.

With Amazon delivery drones still "years" away, according to a recent interview with CEO Jeff Bezos, Kobi Shikar is offering an alternative idea. Shikar, an industrial design student at Israel’s Shenkar College, has unveiled his personal vision for a delivery robot. His Transwheel robot concept, created as part of his final college project, looks like a robotic unicycle. It is in fact an autonomous robotic wheel with a self-balancing system and electric arms to carry the load. 

Contract logistics provider Exel, part of the Deutsche Post DHL group, is set to test "vision picking" technology in two of its US warehouses later this year. Warehouse workers will be equipped with "smart glass" eyeware which can read bar codes and show the fastest route to find products – doing away with the need for hand-held scanners and paper job orders.

Demand for U.S. industrial real estate is outpacing supply, raising rents to near pre-recession levels and attracting speculative investment in new facilities, according to a new report by the real estate firm CBRE Inc.

Wearable and mobile technologies are transforming supply chains. In this installment of MHI view learn how wearable technology is currently being used in the material handling industry and how it will be used in the future. 

The demands placed on supply chain leaders are constantly increasing and organizations are feeling the pressure to recruit and retain the next generation supply chain workforce. As a result, developing that future supply chain workforce, particularly those in leadership positions, is a strategic imperative. APICS Supply Chain Council recently released a report titled "The Supply Chain Leadership Report: Many Styles Generate Success" which examines this topic including key attributes, leadership styles and developing the ability to formally and informally influence a multitude of stakeholders.

MHI recently announced the dates for ProMat 2017. ProMat 2017 will be held April 3-6, 2017 at Chicago's McCormick Place. ProMat is the largest international material handling, logistics and supply chain show and conference held in North America. 

Identified as one of the eight emerging technologies that will transform supply chain models in the next decade, predictive analytics has grown tremendously in recent years and will become an ever-increasing force in the industry. Find out how you can make predictive analytics work for your benefit.

Are you a professional that feels, "I don’t get it" or "I don’t have time" to maintain your Twitter account? If so, you are not alone. The busy professional wants to know how to use Twitter effectively without wasting time online. Some Twitter users want to become well connected and have a lot to share. Others use Twitter more as a valuable information resource. Here are some must-know steps to ensure Twitter is working best for you.

Collaboration is essential in today’s work environments. Teams are critical in today’s workforce but many struggle to utilize them effectively. View the archive of MHI’s Young Professionals Network recent Webinar featuring Deb Palmer George to learn techniques to be a better teammate to your coworkers and how to effectively collaborate with others.

Kevin Vliet, Director, Material Flow Engineering at Tesla Motors, has joined the new Automation Solutions Group (ASG) of MHI as its first General Member Representative. MHI has recently taken a strong leadership position in the material handling & supply chain collaboration space and the ASG is at the forefront of that effort.

The recent explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin could have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on global supply chains. As one of the world’s largest ports, Tianjin is a primary gateway for goods produced in northern China and a shipping point for the chemicals used in electronics production.

General Mills recently announced a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions across its entire supply chain — "from farm to fork to landfill" — by 28 percent over the next 10 years. The maker of Cheerios, Haagen Dazs and dozens of other products with $17.6 billion in annual sales is the first major food company to set a specific goal to cut emissions beyond its direct operations.

Sensors and automatic identification technologies generate large amounts of real-time data, providing full visibility into the supply chain and removing a number of traditional limitations. Find out what you should do now to get ahead on this emerging trend.

MHI Young Professionals Network (YPN) hosted the Emerging Leaders Conference in downtown Chicago on July 30. The conference was attended by more than 100 people from over 50 material handling companies. The conference was centered on the topic of Collaboration and had three keynote speakers and an interactive roundtable discussion.

MHI recently announced that Ralph Henderson will serve as Master of Ceremonies for its 2015 Executive Summit and Annual Conference. Ralph is the President of OmniChannel Productions and was previously Executive Director of the National Logistics & Distribution conference (NLDC). He has over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales and event production in the material handling, logistics and supply chain industries.