MHI Blog -- Leading firms have increased their revenue as much as 20 percent and cut supply chain costs up to 16 percent by implementing sustainable supply chain practices, according to a World Economic Forum report titled Beyond Supply Chains – Empowering Value Chains.
The report identifies 31 practices to help companies achieve increased revenue, reduced supply chain costs and added brand value.
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Modern Materials Handling -- The Reshoring Initiative, an organization committed to helping manufacturers recognize the profit potential of utilizing local sourcing and production, has published its annual data report on reshoring trends, and the news is good.
More than 60,000 manufacturing jobs were brought to the United States by reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) combined in 2014, representing a 400% increase since 2003.
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Design News -- Industry 4.0 is coming to the extended supply chain. Over the coming decade, innovations like predictive analytics, 3D printing, and wearable technologies will change the supply chain even as workforce shortages intensify. Customer demands and competition are the driving forces, according to the 2015 MHI Annual Industry Report, "Supply Chain Innovation — Making the impossible possible." MHI, an international trade association that represents the material handling, logistics and supply chain industry, produced the report with Deloitte Consulting.
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EBN -- The traditional supply chain and the supply chain management function are being morphed into an integrated value chain. This optimization makes up for a more efficient flow of supplies and products; and more importantly, an emphasis in customer and business value.
To achieve this transformation, supply chains need to build consistent and constant growth in the way the organization uses advanced analytics, shifting from one way of analyzing data to another according to projected and expected results.
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MHI Blog -- It doesn’t matter how large or small, what you do, or who is your demographic, there is a place for every business on social media. According to a study by app maker Locket, the average person unlocks their phone 110 times a day. Americans spend more time checking their social media accounts than any other major internet activity, including email. A huge audience is one of social media’s big advantages. Below are three reasons why you should consider integrating social media into your marketing plan.
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Reliable Plant -- For those in the material handling industry, staying ahead of the game means not only having efficient operators (and forklifts), but also upgrading to new material handling tools and resources to outpace competitors in innovation and workplace productivity. Because 2015 is another competitive year for people in the material handling industry, warehouses and employers alike should educate themselves about trending material handling tools and leverage them to their favor.
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Industrial Distribution -- Lean warehouse teams are focused on continuous improvement and exceptional efficiencies. Many Lean warehouse teams start out with great intentions, implementing changes that improve processes and increase efficiency. But then, slowly over time, the newness wanes and they lose momentum. While this is not uncommon, it’s extremely important that managers take notice and take action. But how can leaders pump life back into a team that is losing momentum? How can a team leader provide positive reinforcement in order to revive the team?
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Logistics Manager -- Amazon, DHL and Audi are to trial a service that allows car owners to use their vehicles as mobile delivery addresses for parcel shipment.
The trial, which will take place in Germany, follows several months of development. The order is placed on Amazon.de, and the parcel is transported by DHL and delivered to the boot of an Audi.
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McKinsey & Company -- What would it take for manufacturing businesses to operate like the best online retailers? How can such companies turn orders around in a day, deliver them with greater customization, and replenish stocks seamlessly? These aren’t idle questions for the top teams of manufacturers, because customers, across both B2C and B2B markets, are more fickle now; service demands are steadily notching upward; and economic volatility shows no sign of abating. Supply operations often struggle to keep pace, as many aren’t sufficiently agile to capture fleeting upside opportunities or to mitigate fast-moving risks.
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Japan Today -- Negotiators for the Trans-Pacific Partnership have agreed trade rules for six broad categories as officials race to conclude a trade pact, a Japanese government source said on Thursday.
The United States, Japan and 10 other countries have been locked in talks over the TPP, a U.S. proposal that would cut trade barriers and harmonize standards covering two-fifths of the world economy and a third of global trade.
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Material Handling & Logistics -- As it’s been almost nine years since the American Trucking Associations (ATA) petitioned for mandatory speed limits, the association thinks it’s time to move forward with a rule requiring the electronic speed limiter on all large trucks be set no higher than 65 miles per hour.
"In 2006, as part of our longstanding commitment to highway safety, ATA petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to require the speed limiter on all large trucks be set in order to electronically limit their top speed to no more than 65 mph," ATA CEO Bill Graves said on April 20.
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Manufacturing.net -- Supply chains are a vital component of every organization’s global business operations and the backbone of today’s global economy. However, security chiefs everywhere are concerned about how open they are to an abundance of risk factors. A range of valuable and sensitive information is often shared with suppliers and, when that information is shared, direct control is lost. This leads to an increased risk of its confidentiality, integrity or availability being compromised.
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MHI Blog -- With supply chains evolving at an "exponential-exponential" rate of universal transformation, the impact on a business can inspire both shock and awe.
During the annual the 2015 WERC Conference in Orlando, Gary Forger, MHI’s Managing Director of Professional Development, will present "Shock and Awe: Revelations from the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics."
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Supply Chain Digital -- Union Pacific Corporation, the largest rail freight company in the USA, today reported 2015 first quarter net income of $1.2 billion compared to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of last year.
The slowing down of profits is partly being blamed on the US West Coast port congestion, and slack coal demand caused carloads to decline too.
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BCG Perspectives -- It is no longer a question of if but when autonomous vehicles (AVs) will hit the road. In the auto industry’s most significant inflection in 100 years, vehicles with varying levels of self-driving capability—ranging from single-lane highway driving to autonomous valet parking to traffic jam autopilot—will start to become available to consumers as soon as mid-2015 or early 2016. Development of autonomous-driving technology is gaining momentum across a broad front that encompasses OEMs, suppliers, technology providers, academic institutions, municipal governments, and regulatory bodies.
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Industry Today -- After a long period of economic turmoil, manufacturers in the United States are finding reasons to be optimistic. Demand is up and companies are seeing improvements in productivity, along with increases in profits. For this upward trajectory to continue, however, industry executives and governmental representatives cannot be complacent. Production efficiency, energy costs, tax legislation, and education access are integral to the success of the industry's current fiscal condition and need to be nurtured or reformed. If the current business environment is to last, there is still more work to do.
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EBN -- The United States moved closer to legalizing the commercial use of drones in February, when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published proposed regulations. Although some criticized the rules as too restrictive (for example, drones would have to fly only during daylight and within sight of the operator), there is plenty of time for the FAA to change the regulations before they become final, in one to two years.
But regardless of the FAA, drones are already being used commercially, both in the U.S. – where it is still technically illegal – and around the world, where it may or may not be. Indeed, Colin Snow, founder and CEO of the Drone Analyst, estimates that there are already 2,000 to 3,000 illegal operators representing economic activity of $200 million to $350 million in the United States.
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