MHI Blog—Supply chain and material handling are industries that live in a dichotomy. They will always be needed, but the accelerated pace of change in technology creates strange obsolescences that the industries have to quickly adapt to. Here are three news bites that we may need to be aware of as companies presses forward in production.

The Wall Street Journal—Parcel delivery companies are getting closer to online retailers—literally.

The package-delivery operations at FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. have been opening more and larger sorting facilities that are readily accessible to their customers—shortening the often time-consuming first leg of a shipment, from e-commerce fulfillment center to shipping hub.

Forbes—This week’s surprise victory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election is roiling markets. The path ahead is all about working within the world that Americans have just voted for.

Much of the election discussion focused on personality issues. This was distracting in terms of policy implications, but largely accepted because "experts" expected Hillary to win and the status quo to prevail. Like Brexit, the voters proved the experts wrong and now we’ve got to hurry up and start thinking about what it all means.

Supply Chain Digital— The very backbone of the supply chain has been shaken by the digital revolution, which is characterised by innovations such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, robotics, machine-to-machine communication, and demand sensing, among other things. As supply chains merge with IoT and big data, the one-size-fits-all, linear supply chain that "buys, makes, moves, stores and delivers" products to all customers and channels in the same lean and operationally efficient way (referred to as Mode 1) is becoming archaic and no longer adequate for future success.

Reuters— U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has suspended its efforts to win congressional approval for his Asian free-trade deal before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, saying on Friday that TPP's fate was up to Trump and Republican lawmakers.

Administration officials also said Obama would try to explain the situation to leaders of the 11 other countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact next week when he attends a regional summit in Peru.

EBN— Customer centricity is a hot topic in today's supply chain conversations. New technologies are dramatically changing the way customers interact with businesses. In order to remain competitive, businesses need to get products and services to their customers seamlessly and efficiently through multiple channels.

As much time and energy as it takes to avoid service interruptions, having a consistent flow of work that gets product to consumers on time is essential to your bottom line.

MHI Blog—As technology continues to develop and robotics in particular gains in AI and dexterity, people are starting to ask if robots are going to take our jobs. The short answer: yes. But that’s a good thing.

Material Handling & Logistics—Logistics companies and retail supply chains will need to adapt to meet high delivery volumes expected this holiday season due to very strong e-commerce sales.  

Expectations surrounding e-commerce sales have changed and are now part of the logistics equation.  

EBN—It was not many years ago when the countdown to the death of the bookstore was nearing zero. The print book was on the edge of extinction as it was reported everyone was in the process of converting to e-readers. Then a funny thing happened. Some readers liked print while others liked digital. Some actually liked both. Equilibrium was established and there is now a renaissance for bookstores. Readers can indeed have it both ways.

Material Handling & Logistics— Now that we have a President-Elect Trump who will take office on January 20, 2017, the warning from my pre-election analysis stands: Don’t expect too many big changes right away.

Chicago Tribune—As the election results rolled in last night, it became increasingly clear that America — and the world — would never be the same. The American people overlooked all of Republican nominee Donald Trump's faults and elected him to office in the belief that he will fix the nation's deep-seated problems of inequity and injustice. And they rebelled against the business interests and corruption that they believed Hillary Clinton represented.

MHI Blog—You’ve probably heard someone mention "content marketing" but you have a fuzzy idea of what that means. If you feel like you should probably know this but are too embarrassed to ask, then this is the post for you. Let’s take a look at what is content marketing and how to make use of it.

Los Angeles Times—The last Hanjin Shipping vessel dropping off goods in California has set sail from the Port of Long Beach, finally clearing the many ships left stranded by the company’s sudden collapse two months ago. But in its wake, the giant shipping line has left a mess that retailers across the country will be sorting out for weeks. 

Supply Chain Digital—The surprise victory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election is roiling markets. The path ahead is all about working within the world that Americans have just voted for.

Much of the election discussion focused on personality issues. This was distracting in terms of policy implications, but largely accepted because "experts" expected Hillary to win and the status quo to prevail.

Supply Management—Spending by manufacturers on plant and machinery is expected to slow over the coming two years, according to research.

Manufacturers' organisation EEF said "elevated levels of uncertainty are clouding the ability of businesses to forecast future demand", though this was an underlying trend not altered by June’s Brexit vote.