MHI Blog — The New Year is upon us and with that comes predictions of what 2016 has in store. Will Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) continue to drive materials on the factory floor? What is ''Industry 4.0'' and when will it take shape? The factory of the future is around the corner and these 3 supply chain trends for 2016 will take us there.

MHL News — 2015 was an eventful year in transportation, according to the latest analysis from freight transportation forecasting firm FTR. Unfortunately, the events took a turn to the dark side in the latter part of the year, with the Shippers Condition Index dropping to a reading of -3.1 in the month of October, with high inventory levels taking the blame for much of that negative reading.

The Wall Street Journal — You don't have to be a tech giant to teach a vehicle to drive itself. Big names like Tesla and Google grab all the attention when it comes to developing autonomous vehicles. But, very quietly, startups have also been getting into the field. These small companies are taking advantage of easily accessible software and plummeting equipment prices to carve out a niche in this emerging industry—retrofitting existing vehicles that do specialized jobs.

Supply Chain Management Review — Reshoring refers to the practice of bringing manufacturing jobs that were previously off-shored to countries such as China back to the United States. Some people argue that this trend has accelerated over recent years and is reviving the nation’s manufacturing might.

Tech Crunch — Many eyes may be gazing toward the sky in anxious anticipation of new drone delivery systems, but an increasing number of intelligent robot systems is already on the ground, in warehouses and manufacturing facilities, helping to manufacture and move products across the globe.



These automated systems, which employ the world's most innovative advancements in software, artificial intelligence and machine learning, are transforming the core process of how each and every product is produced and delivered.

Industryweek — In December, two conflicting reports were released, one by A.T. Kearney and one by the Boston Consulting Group. The A. T. Kearney report states that reshoring may be "over before it began", and the Boston Consulting Group report states that it is increasing. Why the difference in opinion and who is right?

Ebnonline — This engineer has plenty of suggestions for you. Got techie family members and friends on your holiday shopping list, but no idea what to get them? This engineer has plenty of suggestions for you. Apple's design may normally be smart, but it has to be even smarter as its Watch enters the hot and increasingly crowded wearables market.

MHI Blog — Human nature forces us to beg the question "how can we be better?" Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, this question has motivated warehouse operators to maintain focus on improving and optimizing their operations. Although this challenge has remained constant over time, influencing factors within the environment have changed. There are three factors that significantly impact the ability to work toward optimization in today's warehouses.

Transport Topics — Freight brokers and third-party logistics providers have traditionally relied on manual check calls to update the status of a shipment, but are increasingly turning to tracking technology to satisfy shippers' demands for greater visibility. In today's supply chain environment, timely information is crucial, said Steve Covey, executive vice president of Choptank Transport Inc., a 3PL based in Preston, Maryland.

The Verge — Drones zipping above our cities, landing on rooftops to drop off a bottle of Tylenol or a hot pizza, then flying home to charge their batteries. It sounds like a far-off fantasy world, the kind of futuristic project that companies trot out to generate press coverage but has little chance of becoming a reality anytime soon. And yet two of the world's biggest companies, Amazon and Google, are starting to confidently assert that they have the technology to implement this kind of business now, if only the regulators would get out of the way.

Industryweek — The companies going from "good" to "great" arrive at the right answers when it comes to making business decisions on product mix, logistical routing and demand planning through a process commonly known as linear programming (tabbed "linear" because the maximized or minimized answers are assumed to be linear in nature).

MHI’s new Career Forum  enables manufacturing and supply chain professionals to view current job postings of MHI member companies. Go to http://www.mhi.org/careers to find the perfect opportunity for you.

Transport Topics — The emergence of wearable technology, such as smartwatches, has given consumers a new way to communicate, track their health and process payments, but some fleets and technology suppliers believe these devices also can serve as valuable tools in trucking operations.

Supply Chain Digital — Global supply chain operations are critically important to business performance and success. Supply chains have grown longer, more complex and more international, and as a consequence, have become increasingly stretched, brittle and thin. Although modern companies acknowledge the strategic importance of supply chains, they rarely dedicate sufficient legal and executive resources to ensure that supply chains are effective and protect company interests.