MHI announces the release of the sixth in a series of MHI Annual Industry Reports developed in collaboration with Deloitte Consulting LLP. The 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report, titled “Elevating Supply Chain Digital Consciousness” provides new insights into trends and technologies that are having a dramatic business impact on supply chains and the people who run them.

High competition in the commerce industry has led to increase demand speed, accuracy and efficiency in supply chain operations. As a result, ProMat attendees are increasingly looking to robotic and automated solutions for their warehouse and distribution center operations. To meet this need, ProMat 2021 will feature a new solution center focused on robotics and automation. Be among the first to learn about this exciting new addition to ProMat 2021.

Is your facility bursting at the seams? Are you struggling to get orders out on time? An automative storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) could be your optimal solution. AS/RS delivers incredible ROI and will actually save you money—both right out of the gate and in the long-term.

The modern supply chain is powered by an array of technological innovations. Electrification and control devices are the common denominator. For more than 90% of MHI member companies, operations would not be possible without these technologies. ECMA (Electrification and Controls Manufacturers Association) members are the industry’s leading manufacturers of electrification and controlling devices. They supply solutions to virtually every major manufacturing and distribution sector worldwide.

MHI’s ProGMA Industry Group has produced a series of educational videos on protective guarding equipment in the material handling industry. ProGMA members provide fixed protective guarding products to protect personnel, equipment and inventory in industrial facilities. 

MHI announced the winners of the 2019 MHI Innovation Awards during ProMat 2019. Four finalists were previously chosen and the winners were announced as the most innovative products in each category—Best New Innovation; Best Innovation of an Existing Product; and Best IT Innovation based on concept, value, and impact.

Blockchain is already here and growing for supply chains, but it will take time for its full potential to take shape, according to a ProMat’s keynote led by Karim R. Lakhani of Harvard Business School.

MHI’s Conveyor and Sortation Systems Industry Group outlines four steps to a successful robotic palletizing integration.

What skills do companies look for when hiring an early-career supply chain professional? Beyond a basic knowledge of the industry, desirable characteristics include technical and analytical abilities, problem-solving experience, good soft skills and an understanding of global supply chains.

The future of manufacturing is evolving in response to the changing needs of their customers. This means the stereotypical view of manufacturing jobs is flipping upside down to cleaner, urban and higher paid careers.

As companies struggle to find qualified candidates to fill supply chain jobs up and down the corporate ladder, many are looking to an untapped resource: women. One model for attracting talented young women to the field that the industry might consider copying is Girls Who Code. The founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, told the story of the organization's formation and described the effect the group has had on the 90,000 girls who have participated, during a keynote session at ProMat.

Last December, The Conference Board released a report detailing why blue-collar workers are now scarcer than white-collar workers. Gad Levanon, lead report author and The Conference Board’s chief economist for North America, said that the report confirms what those in the supply chain have already been experiencing: workforce shortages in transportation, production and manufacturing. So how can companies cope?