MHI
Leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers are responding to the speed of the digital consumer and balancing operational quality with innovation to connect to them. This according to a new report titled Growth Strategies: Unlocking the Power of the Consumer by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and PwC US.

 

Top-performing companies are finding success by identifying their consumers, engaging with them and focusing on innovation that directly reach their customers. The report explores how digital and social media, accelerated mobile adoption and a direct-to-consumer approach are rewriting the rules of retailing and CPG manufacturing.

Modern Materials Handling
Results from a recent survey suggest that the industrial sector is generally optimistic about its growth prospects for the coming year, but sees an array of regulatory and policy-related issues as threats to its continued recovery.

 

These are among the findings from the 2013 McGladrey Manufacturing and Distribution Monitor, a survey of more than 1,000 middle market industry executives from across the United States.

Supply Chain Digital
Port security has become a complicated issue in today’s world. Terrorist attacks over the past decade have shown the importance of securing major ports.

 

However, the logistics and costs involved in ensuring the safety of ports have certainly made port security a major problem.

EBN
Experts say that the industry is in the midst of a new industrial revolution. If they're right, then supply chain professionals should brace themselves for substantial changes in their jobs.

 

A raft of new technologies is leading to a renaissance in manufacturing. The advent of cloud computing, ubiquitous connectivity, mobile devices, big-data, and 3D printing, as well as the explosion of embedded sensors and microcontrollers, enable the creation of smarter, leaner, and more nimble factories.

Industry Week
Margin-based supply chain optimization is a new business process based on two key business priorities: 1) the desire to deliver more high profit products to customers, and 2) the ability to stop serving customers and products with low profit yield.

 

This supply chain decision support process quantitatively shows companies which customers to serve and what products to produce in order to maximize profit and margin. For companies with complex supply chain operations, this is often easier said than done. Recent advances in the availability of data and optimization modeling, however, enable a growing number of companies to implement more efficient and effective supply chain systems.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive
There is no doubt that the guesswork days are over. Most executives who work in supply and demand chain management these days are well aware of the importance of business intelligence (BI) systems to optimize their company.

 

Yet, after investing and integrating into a particular system, many businesses may feel that the solutions do not live up to their promises. To address that, this article will shed some light on the sources of this problem.

MHI
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) just released its 24th annual "State of Logistics Report®," presented by Penske Logistics. The report reveals that total U.S. business logistics costs rose in 2012 to $1.33 trillion, a 3.4 percent increase from the previous year, remaining at 8.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

 

The report has tracked and measured all costs associated with moving freight through the U.S. supply chain since 1988. This year's report presents an overview of the economy during the past year, the logistics industry's key trends and total U.S. logistics costs for 2012. It also suggests that the U.S. is no longer in recovery mode, but rather in the "new normal" for the economy and supply chain industry as a whole. The research concludes with a brief overview of industry indicators for the remainder of 2013.

World Trade
While U.S. logistics costs rose 3.4 percent in 2012, reaching $1.33 trillion, the total costs remained steady at 8.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

 

Rosalyn Wilson, the report’s author, noted that both inventory carrying costs and transportation costs rose modestly in 2012.

 

Wilson characterized the economy, which is in its fourth year of recovery, as, "still experiencing low-to-slow growth, unemployment levels remain high, job creation is weak and focused on low quality jobs, freight volumes and rates have been inconsistent and trends rarely move in the same direction for more than a couple of months." She added that the global economy has ratcheted down considerably. She asked rhetorically, "Is it time to ask,’ Is this the new normal?’"

Material Handling & Logistics
More than 28 percent of all trucks registered in the United States – 2.5 million of 8.6 million trucks - are now equipped with advanced new technology clean diesel engines, according to new data compiled by R.L. Polk and Company for the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF).

 

The Polk data includes registration information on Class 3-8 trucks from 2007 through 2012 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Beginning in 2007, all heavy duty diesel trucks sold had to meet particulate emissions levels of 0.01 grams per brake horse-power hour (g/HP-hr) - a level near zero.

SupplyChainBrain
Total U.S. business logistics costs in 2012 rose to $1.33tr, up 3.4 percent from the year before, but remaining at 8.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, according to the 24th annual State of Logistics Report released by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and presented by Penske Logistics.

 

The report, written by transportation consultant Rosalyn Wilson, tracked and measured all costs associated with moving freight through the U.S. supply chain since 1988, presenting an overview of the economy during the past year, the logistics industry’s key trends, and total U.S. logistics costs for 2012. This year’s report suggests that the U.S. is no longer in recovery mode, but rather in the "new normal" for the economy and supply chain industry as a whole. The "new normal" is characterized by slow growth, namely GDP growth hovering between 2.5 to 4 percent, higher unemployment levels, higher healthcare costs for businesses and less reliable or predictable freight service as volumes rise.

EBN
There's a fine line between a career that is thriving and one that is dying in supply chain chaos. Success depends on careful, ongoing career management.

 

Any disaster, whether it's a tornado, an explosion, or simply a new boss, can translate to career disaster. With the right planning, though, these changes can be a solid path to career advancement.