MHI Blog — During the recent MODEX 2016 event, MHI hosted a Keynote Panel on the findings of the 2016 MHI Annual Industry Report titled Accelerating Change: How Innovation is Driving Digital Always-On Supply Chains. The video of this Keynote Panel is now available for viewing to provide an up-to-date perspective on emerging supply chain trends.

Material Handling & Logistics — The top three business issues regarding supply chain planning and execution are increasing availability without increasing stockholding - highlighted by 62% of retailers, followed by reducing stockholding without impacting sales (47%) and in joint third automating key processes and better collaboration with suppliers (44% each).



This is according to a new survey "State of the Retail Supply Chain 2016" report, from Martec International and RELEX.

Industryweek — Everyone is running around talking about Big Data - and yes, our databases are immense. A gigabyte used to sound like a lot. But today, we talk about terabytes without even blinking. Big Data didn't grow up overnight. Data volumes have grown steadily for many years. But today, the value we get But today, the value we get from all those ones and zeroes is increasing exponentially.



This is as true in manufacturing as it is in any other industry. Here are three ways Big Data is helping manufacturers think bigger than ever before.

Ebnonline —Hidden costs remain the biggest and scariest issue with having product manufactured offshore. These unseen costs suck out your profit margins.

Reuters — Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rebounded far less than expected in March as demand for automobiles, computers and electrical goods slumped, suggesting the downturn in the factory sector was far from over.



Tuesday's report from the Commerce Department also implied that business spending and economic growth were weak in the first quarter. Prospects for the second quarter darkened after another report showed an ebb in consumer confidence in April. 

MHI Blog — In November 2015, MHI first launched an awareness campaign to connect, engage and inspire next-generation workers to pursue manufacturing and supply chain careers. The campaign launched with a #iWorkInTheSupplyChain video that tells the unique stories of a variety of manufacturing and supply chain professionals. MHI invited supply chain professionals to nominate themselves to become the 2016 Face of the Supply Chain. Contestants entered by sharing their stories on the iWorkInTheSupplyChain blog.

MHL News — The rapid emergence of advanced analytics, along with new modes of transport like autonomous vehicles will bring Internet-like speeds and efficiencies to transportation and logistics, saving time and trillions of dollars, according to Lux Research. Transportation and logistics, among the slowest-changing industries, is inefficient in time, energy, labor, and capital - as well as dirty and grotesquely underutilized in terms of capacity.

The New York Times — Manufacturing powered the economic development of today's advanced nations. But in the developing world, industrial employment is peaking prematurely, before poor countries have had a chance to get rich. 

Ebnonline — Amazon is extending its behemoth reach from e-commerce into logistics in a bid to service its own needs and increase revenues. Amazon is extending its behemoth reach from e-commerce into logistics in a bid to service its own needs and increase revenues. Amazon has eyed and captured many markets. Will logistical services be the company's next big move?

Modern Materials Handling — Managing excess inventory is a challenge for even the most efficient organizations. Overage issues can be a constant headache, draining profitability and taking leadership focus away from core business priorities. When faced with excess inventory, many companies try the following common-though misguided-strategies.

Industryweek — This year saw the best opening quarter for North American robotics orders, the industry's trade group, Robotic Industries Association (RIA), reported today. The 7,406 total orders from January through March 2016 was a 7% increase from the previous year's first quarter of 6,895. The total value of these sales is approximately $402 million, a drop of 8% from the same period last year.

Supply Chain Management Review — Digital Transformation is quickly becoming one of the buzz words of corporate America as well as in global business. It's a hot topic because there are industries who are more digitally inclined than others. While it is more natural to certain industries, slowly but surely all businesses will move towards digital transformation because at the heart of it the changes are in place to help organization's relationship with the customers.

The Wall Street Journal — Johnson Controls had a logistics mystery on its hands: thousands of reusable shipping boxes and storage racks were disappearing every year. The auto-parts maker, which was spending a small fortune to replace the equipment, launched an investigation. It showed some were squirreled away at factories by Johnson Controls' own plant managers, others were kept by customers.

Supply Chain Management Review — Cybersecurity threats to the US shipping industry continue to haunt supply chain managers this year, say analysts. Both the U.S. and Canada have recently issued advisories on "ransomware" attacks. These events permit hackers to capture critical data, denying access to it until they are paid a large ransom.

Industrial Distribution — Much has been talked about the perceived talent gap in manufacturing. Data suggests a manufacturing skills gap could result in 2 million unfulfilled jobs by 2025. Others suggest the "gap" could be a myth, or grossly overstated.



Here's a fact that isn't debatable: the industrial distribution sector is having great difficulty finding the talent it needs to replace retiring baby boomers who comprise a large portion of its workforce. This is especially true for family-owned and smaller distributors, where boomers often make up a majority of headcount.

Industryweek — The reason why so many companies-including Apple, Ford, Caterpillar, General Electric, Intel and others-have reshored some production plants back to their home country is primarily because they wanted to be closer to their customers. The increase in labor cost in traditional low-cost countries like China, combined with the emergence of new automation technologies, is making reshoring a viable option today.

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.