MHI Blog -- 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.

Modern Materials Handling -- Among 600 manufacturing companies surveyed, 97% of respondents believe the Internet of Things (IoT) is the most significant technology initiative of the decade.

This is according to research conducted for Zebra Technologies Corporation, a global leader in products and services that provide real-time visibility into organizations’ assets, people and transactions.

The Christian Science Monitor -- For consumers, in-store pickup combines the ease of shopping online with the promptness of purchasing from a local retailer.

But while it's been revealed that this method isn't any more efficient than just buying in-store, that hasn't stopped brick-and-mortar shops from adopting and promoting this service — nor has it dissuaded customers from using it. According to a recent survey conducted by Boston Retail Partners company, 78% of retailers plan to implement in-store pickup service within the next three years; currently, 41% already do.

So what's the deal? Why is this trend growing?

EBN -- Increasingly, electronics OEMs are leveraging technology to transition older paper-based order processes to automated and digitized processes that can keep up with today's speed of business. As procurement grows into its potential as a key strategic business function, finding the right procurement solutions is only going to become more important.

This spring, Gartner reported that supply chain management (SCM) and procurement applications outpaced most software markets with 10.8% annual growth, reaching a total $9.9 billion in 2014. "Organizations modernizing supply chains drove opportunity for both large-suite and specialized providers to become more agile and drive innovation within their businesses during 2014," said Chad Eschinger, research vice president at Gartner.

As part of MHI view’s ongoing video program, this new episode focuses on:

Identified as one of the eight emerging technologies that will transform supply chain models in the next decade, inventory and network optimization tools rank as the most widely used and most likely to deliver a competitive advantage. Find out what you should do now to get ahead on this emerging trend. 

 

Business Insider -- The latest reading of US manufacturing activity from Markit Economics came in at 52.9, the lowest level since October 2013.

Economists had estimated a Purchasing Manager's Index flash reading of 53.8 in August, unchanged from the prior period.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive  -- There’s no question that cyberattacks continue to escalate in frequency and scope. And manufacturing companies are at greater risk than ever as they share increasingly more processes and information with a widening constellation of supply chain partners. Risk is further compounded by insufficient assessments of the cybersecurity practices of supply chain partners, and other fundamental shortcomings in processes and personnel safeguards.

Taken together, these factors are contributing to a continuing increase in cybersecurity incidents among manufacturing companies. In The Global State of Information Security Survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that industrial products manufacturers reported a 17 percent jump in the average number of detected security incidents in 2014, compared with the year before.

Progressive Grocer -- On average, $10 million dollars is the cost of a recall on a food company. Add this to the fact that recalls have been doubling every year from the 2002-2014 period in the United States, and it should worry any stakeholder in the manufacturing and processing facilities. Yet many of them are surprisingly optimistic about the chance of a recall affecting business, and it’s their belief of invincibility that leaves them unprepared to weather a storm when one blows up. When manufacturers take a risk on their customers' health, they take a risk on their business’s health.

The silver lining to this is that progressive retailers are leading the march for suppliers and processors to get their HACCP documentation in compliance with international regulations.

21st Century Supply Chain -- The term crowdsourcing—the process of obtaining ideas, services or information by soliciting feedback from a large group of people—has existed since 2005. But its fundamental concept predates the name by centuries. In 1714, the British government offered the public a monetary prize to the person who created the best solution for measuring a ship’s longitude.

As has been this case with so many concepts, the internet has given crowdsourcing phenomenal reach and influence. We’ve already seen the significant impact that crowdsourcing has on modern business product development, production and delivery, and that effect will undoubtedly only grow over time. Here are three ways that crowdsourcing is revolutionizing supply chain management today—and in the future.

Material Handling & Logistics -- The Panama Canal Authority, on August 28th, announced the suspension of plans which cut ships' maximum draft from the usual 12.04 meters (39.5 feet) to 11.89 meters.

Although the level of Gatun Lake is still well below normal levels for this time of the year, and the "El Niño" phenomenon is still present in the region, the Authority said that the amount of rainfall received in the Canal Watershed during the last few days-in addition to the water conservation measures implemented and the works done to deepen the navigational channel-has made it possible for the Panama Canal to suspend the announced restriction.

Logistics Viewpoints -- It doesn’t matter if the cost of supply is at an all-time high or fluctuating wildly, the impact of excess inventory and inefficient operations can be crippling to cash flow. While it is obvious that inventory costs money, most companies are not aggressively seeking to exert control and carry fewer overall gallons. The same holds true for operational efficiency. There are transportation savings to be had from the company fleet or from outsourced carriers. These savings will flow directly to the bottom line, enhancing positive cash flow. In order to achieve the desired results we must provide the proper tools to operations and stop asking them to try and keep up with an increasingly complex operating environment.

Fleet Owner -- The trucking industry is expected to undergo significant and continued "transformation" due to ongoing incorporation of more active safety technologies, such as collision mitigation, and factory-installed telematics systems, according to a panel discussion at the 2015 Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference last week in Dallas, TX.

Stephen Hampson, president and GM of Meritor WABCO, and Chris Hines, executive VP for Zonar Systems, both argued that various technologies will not only continue to make the industry safer – reducing crashes and helping identify bad driving habits – but also help boost fleet profitability as well, particularly via increased vehicle uptime.

Forbes -- At this point, experts are not saying that China has slipped into recession. But recessions are defined in the rear view mirror, after they have occurred. Further clouding the issue is the fact that leading economists have long questioned how accurate China’s GDP data is. Companies would be well advised to start doing contingency planning assuming that China is in recession.

Further, companies need to also ask not just how a Chinese recession impacts their China business, but whether a Chinese recession, or even just a substantial slow down, will tip the world’s economy into recession.