Material Handling & Logistics -- What will be the top talent trends in the automation workplace in 2015? I see a number of talent trends in the automation industry taking shape now and evolving over the next year. Companies are realizing that they need to incorporate a variety of talent acquisition and retention strategies to stay competitive. In 2015, top performers and executive talent will be highly competitive and therefore, great candidates will find themselves in positions of strength.

MHI Blog -- ProMat 2015 will feature a Supply Chain Workforce Summit on March 25 and 26 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The Summit will focus on how you can start now to develop your future workforce in material handling and logistics.

Modern Materials Handling -- Given the ongoing proliferation of e-commerce and its subsequent––and wide ranging––impact on supply chain operations and processes in the form of things like increased automation, speed, cycle time, and order fulfillment and delivery, among other factors, it does not come as a major surprise that retailers and e-commerce shippers (e-tailers) are going head-to-head over distribution space in locations in close proximity to large populations.

That is one of the main takeaways from Chicago-based commercial real estate brokerage JLL. 

Blue Horseshoe -- With 2014 now behind us, it is time to look forward and see what 2015 will have in store for the industry. With rapid changes in the economy, business leaders are challenged this year to understand what happened in 2014 and what is coming in 2015. As we get back from the holiday season, take a look at what we have seen in 2014 and what we are looking forward to talking with you about in 2015.

EBN -- While mid-market companies are focused on ensuring the financial health of their organizations, they must also simultaneously put resources into expanding market footprint. According to a recent American Express survey of mid-market companies, the single most important priority for more than half was growing their business. Those surveyed believed that the number one driver of growth would be improvements in infrastructure, including technology and operations (even ahead of acquiring new customers). In this article, we'll discuss five key manufacturing and logistics changes you can implement to shape up your supply chain and prepare for healthy, sustained growth. 

The Telegraph -- Amazon says that its Sunday deliveries in the UK have quadrupled compared to last year as the online shopping revolution accelerates. 

The increase in Sunday deliveries is a sign of how shopping habits are changing and how Amazon is taking control of its own delivery network.

Industry Week -- Big Data, Robotics, Connectivity, Cyber-Security—these are just four of the more obvious expensive and high-tech requirements that companies are putting on their suppliers. And rightfully so. But not all key suppliers can meet these expectations for those very reasons:  finances and skills.

Pity the small niche supplier who cannot afford the technology and certainly can’t afford to be wrong in what it chooses to acquire.

Forbes -- Right now in the northeast a blizzard locks down the region including UPS deliveries, fulfillment warehouses, and anything else that moves.  Short term it is a hassle of course, but in the longer term it’s a golden opportunity that smart supply chain strategists should seize.  This is especially true of grocery retail.  Here is why.

Supply Chain Digital -- As businesses continue to emerge from the 2008 recession, especially mid-market manufacturing and distribution companies, they are faced with the very real need to upgrade their talent, processes and tools. The challenge most companies face is ‘where and when’. Prior to the recession, the concentration was on internally focused systems like ERPs and CRM. These types of systems were considered the primary lifeblood of the organization. And while I would not discount their importance, there is another area of the business that has emerged as equally critical: supply chain operations. 

IMPO -- Elemica, a Supply Chain Operating Network provider for the process industries, offers ten top initiatives in the journey to supply chain excellence. The inter-connectedness, expansive footprints, and co-dependency within the process industries, and the dynamic supply chain interactions in an inter-enterprise network, mandates that companies adopt a continuous improvement strategy in order to be successful. Using these initiatives, business leaders will gain greater profitability, improve productivity, and increase customer satisfaction to drive more value out of their supply chains.

DC Velocity -- Picking a location for a warehouse or distribution center (DC) is not a decision to be taken lightly. If a company makes the wrong choice, it will mean increased supply chain costs and inefficiencies for years to come. To avoid this mistake, companies need to be aware of the macro trends brewing on the horizon that could affect a warehouse's future costs or efficiency level.

During our firm's site selection engagements, we consult with a wide range of corporate managers who have input into the many quantitative and qualitative factors that go into location decisions for a new DC or warehousing operation. Here are the five trends these managers are talking about most in their meetings with us.

PCBDesign 007 -- Software AG today released the company’s top ten predictions for the next year in the manufacturing and supply chain industry, calling 2015 the tipping point for supply chain sentience.

Next year innovative manufacturers will leap ahead by deploying more and better sensors, add more comprehensive automation and increasingly choose local fabrication.

Manufacturing.net -- The labor shortage in the supply chain and manufacturing industries has been well-documented, and increasingly as that shortage continues to grow. Corrie Banks and Kleo Landucci, executives at logistics services providing companies, can’t stress enough how they’d like to see fellow females continue to enter the supply chain workforce and break the stereotype of it being "a man’s world." 

Multichannel Merchant -- Noah Maffit, a former EVP and general manager of Live Nation and others like him are sounding a wakeup call for American digital marketers. He says those who aren’t actively developing their international online markets are missing their best opportunity to do so before it’s too late.

Maffit told an audience of some of North America’s largest retailers that while there are many risks to taking your business online to other nations, the risk of not going global, or of waiting too long to make the move, almost certainly will be greater.

EBN -- Change demands rapid action. In today's digital world, rapid change not only affects businesses and their supply chains but also customers and their decision making. Optimizing the supply chain means focusing on getting products and services to market faster and better in order to meet customer's demands. 

The responsibility of the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) goes from planning to procurement to production to logistics to customer service, and even to finance. CSCOs need to oversee customer satisfaction while increasing efficiency and productivity. To accomplish all this, they need to collaborate with suppliers, logistics providers, manufacturers, and business partners. So, how do they create a customer-activated supply chain on top of all that?

Supply Management -- In the last of this series of blogs looking at how e-sourcing software can be used for more than finding new suppliers and getting best price, Alun Morris looks at how it can help organisations collaborate on their procurement needs more effectively. 

Material Handling & Logistics -- Although some pundits would like you to believe that cheaper fuel is going to wreck the economy, don’t try telling that to shippers. Thanks to the dramatic drop in fuel prices over the past couple months, along with an easing of capacity tightness in the marketplace, the Shippers Conditions Index is at its highest point in recent memory.