MHI Blog — 3D printing is a "game changer" for manufacturing, but its real impact on supply chains will take years to play out, experts say.



According to the 2016 MHI Annual Industry Report, Accelerating change: how innovation is driving digital, always on supply chains, only 17 percent of nearly 900 supply chain professionals surveyed said they believe that 3D printing can be a competitive advantage, and only six percent consider it disruptive; 45 percent say it will have some impact.

Los Angeles Daily News — A $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal opening this weekend will reverberate 3,000 miles away at the massive Los Angeles and Long Beach ports complex, which for decades has been the best, fastest and cheapest route between Asia and the United States' voracious consumer market.



Cargo containers from Asia filled with everything from tennis shoes to computers now can take a direct, all-water route to East Coast and southern ports, avoiding the trucks, distribution centers and trains necessary to transfer goods from L.A./Long Beach to far-flung U.S. markets.

Harvard Business Review — A new type of services company could transform global supply chains: Financial technology companies that act as intermediaries in facilitating transactions between a company and its suppliers. They enable both the buyer and supplier to improve their working capital by making it possible for the former to extend its payables and at the same time accelerate payment to the latter. This provides both sides with benefits, including greater liquidity and less variability in the timing of payments.

Fleet Owner — One of the major findings from the 27th annual State of Logistics report is that "gaps" in infrastructure and "accelerating trends for speed" will increasingly put pressure on a logistics system not designed for e-commerce driven "last mile, last minute" delivery service.



"Consumer expectations are changing. They want their products delivered fast and they don't want to pay a lot of money for delivery," noted Marc Althen, president of Penske Logistics, in this year's report. "Shippers are struggling to meet the challenges these expectations create."

MHI Blog — In 2015, MHI's Career & Technical Education (CTE) program received several calls from school districts on both coasts seeking more information about how to establish their own supply chain, material handling and logistics education programs at the high school level.



Those calls led directly and regional workforce development to our participation in two different Supply Chain Education and Workforce Summits- in Bakersfield, CA in April, and in the Hudson Valley of New York in November-as well as the addition of a similar event to the already planned MHI Career and Technical Education (CTE) Educators' Summit, held in Patterson, CA last July. Further, we're currently assisting the Greenville, SC region as it works to establish its own educational and workforce programming.

Supply Chain Management Review — Automation use by competitors, customers, and suppliers were three of the top five drivers of automation investment over the past five years, inferring a supply chain and industry influence on this business decision.

The ultimate goal of lean is to provide outstanding value to the customer through a flawless creation process that has zero waste. Companies that work toward these outcomes are more successful and competitive - so scrutinizing your processes using lean as a guide could mean substantial gains for your business.

 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

The Wall Street Journal — A year-long pullback in U.S. business inventories will likely continue through the rest of 2016 as retailers and manufacturers remain cautious amid uncertain demand and the prospects for higher interest rates, according to a report on U.S. logistics.



The tight lid on inventories, a drag on U.S. economic growth in the first quarter, comes as companies are paring back after overstocking in recent years while they tried to adjust to changes in consumer buying patterns, said the authors of the annual State of Logistics report released Tuesday. 

Supply & Demand Chain Executive — Supply chain risk comes from a myriad sources and can be very hard, if not impossible, to predict. Risks run the gamut-from weather extremes, power outages, theft, counterfeiting, product spoilage, global crises, cargo lost at sea, truck or rail accidents, etc. The impacts can be costly-there's an estimated $50 billion annual financial impact on cargo losses alone. In health care, additional risks come from specialized shipping methods such as using a temperature-sensitive supply chain. In fact, the losses associated with temperature excursions in health care are estimated at $35 billion.

MHL News — People interact with AI every day, in so many ways that nobody thinks of it as the application of computer intelligence; it's just another app, like Apple's Siri or speech recognition capabilities in voice-mail applications like Microsoft Outlook. In the industrial arena, supply chain planning solutions are AI-based, and most predictive analytics tools have some form of AI component.

Supply Chain Brain — As larger U.S. retailers continue to close underperforming stores with more customers choosing to shop online from their own homes, big-box store vacancies have increased in recent years. But with online sales only increasing and more small shop spaces mimicking the online sales environment, the biggest impacts are being reflected in warehouse space and logistics.

Supply Chain Management Review — An annual intelligence authorization act passed last month by the House of Representatives would crack down on cyber-security at U.S. seaports, the latest step to alleviate growing concerns over terror attacks on the maritime industry. Lawmakers voted 371-35 for the Intelligence Authorization ...

The Star — Canada has become a digital nation but main street retailers have not followed suit and are facing long odds when they do try to compete online, according to a report by Yellow Pages Limited, called Cities as Warehouses, The Survival of Main Street in a Digital World.

CIO — Supply chain management is the ultimate back office function. It doesn't receive as much attention as websites, marketing technology and app development. Yet improving the supply chain yields major bottom line benefits.



Walmart and Amazon are household names in retail, noted for their global presence and steady emphasis on delivering low prices. Outstanding supply chain and operations systems are a key reason for their success. What if other companies were able to achieve Walmart-style supply chain efficiencies? That's the promise of a new generation of supply chain innovators.

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.

Industryweek — Despite coming from different sectors, sizes and regions, I’ve noticed some common themes emerging from them all. Based on these stories, I have some predictions I’d like to share about how the manufacturing industry is going to progress throughout the remaining quarters of 2016.

Ebnonline — To better prepare for disruptions, many OEMs have turned to enterprise risk management (ERM) to proactively detect, prevent and mitigate risks in the supply chain with a focus on deep tier suppliers. To better prepare for disruptions, many OEMs have turned to enterprise risk management (ERM) to proactively detect, prevent and mitigate risks in the supply chain with a focus on deep tier suppliers.

MHL News — After a modest spell of largely positive news, conditions for shippers have leveled off to fair-to-middling levels. The latest Shippers Conditions Index (SCI), which is tracked each month by transportation forecasting firm FTR, came in at a near-neutral reading of 0.4 for the month of March. The flattening of the index score followed four months of positive results.

Supply Chain Management Review — Think elementary school is too young to introduce students to supply chain management? Learn how an innovative program is reaching students as young as kindergarten.