MHISolutionsmag.com—After four years of surveying supply chain executives, MHI and report partner Deloitte have seen the original predictions about disruptive technologies changing traditional supply chain models from the initial Annual Industry Report in 2014 come to fruition. In the new 2017 MHI Annual Industry Report, "Next-Generation Supply Chains: Digital, On-Demand and Always-On," which was released in a keynote panel discussion at ProMat 2017, the latest trends and adoption rates associated with eight disruptive technologies are revisited.

MHI Blog—Think about the last item you purchased online. Chances are that item has been through a distribution center where humans are working alongside robots to satisfy an increasing demand for fast delivery. More jobs are needed to fill the roles in warehouses at Amazon and other companies. In fact, the number of distribution center jobs in California has increased by 48% in the past three years. High schools and community colleges are using technology to train students for these jobs.

Modern Materials Handling—If you attended ProMat 2017, you may agree that it’s time to look at materials handling leaders as innovators. On the show floor, companies were demonstrating training and picking solutions using virtual and augmented reality; vision-based maintenance; mobile and piece-picking robotics; pocket sorters; and new software solutions. Are they all ready for prime time? Of course not. Many of these innovative solutions are still in search of a customer willing to do a pilot. But, they demonstrate the leaps the industry is taking after years of tweaking existing hardware.

EBN—No company intends to need to pull its products off the shelf or warn customers that they might not have gotten what they intended. Unfortunately, it happens to even the best companies. Having the right systems and processes in place to mitigate these unfortunate moments can make the difference between a blip on the radar screen and a full-scale supply chain, business, and branding catastrophe.

SupplyChainBrain—The modern-day retail D.C. is an omnichannel operation. But how can warehouses make it work? Robotics furnishes at least part of the answer, says Michael Hazelden, senior vice president of product strategy with OrderDynamics. The technology can play a crucial role in handling both large quantities of product and individual items.

CIO—CIOs at StubHub, HD Supply, JetBlue and other leading organizations are spearheading digital initiatives to drive business growth. Here's a look at their evolving digital transformations.

The New York Times—Central bankers are not yet ready to buy into dystopian visions in which robots render humans superfluous. But, at an exclusive gathering at a golf resort near Lisbon, the big minds of monetary policy were seriously discussing the risk that artificial intelligence could eliminate jobs on a scale that would dwarf previous waves of technological change.

Bloomberg—AI will contribute as much as $15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030, according to a PwC report. That’s more than the current combined output of China and India.

As part of MHI view's ongoing video program, this new episode focuses on Aero-Robotics and Cycle Counts.

In this episode of MHI View, we cover some of the technological challenges and solutions related to deploying indoor drones for inventory management.

Regulatory Focus—The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it does not intend to take action against manufacturers who do not affix or imprint a product identifier to each package and homogenous case of products intended to be introduced in a transaction into commerce before 26 November 2018.

Harvard Business Review—NAFTA is headed for a renegotiation. Changescould range from adjustments to the rules of origin for product content, and more-stringent labor standards, to the extreme of withdrawal and a return to World Trade Organization most-favored-nation tariffs. These shifts will have important implications for the supply chain and profitability of U.S.-based companies. However, there is a high level of uncertainty about the ultimate outcome and consequences for companies, in part because the effect could be offset or aggravated by how currency rates adjust.

Environmental Leader—When it comes to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, the electricity sector gets much of the attention, considering that it is responsible for 29 percent of those releases. But the transportation sector makes up 26 percent of them. If that is going to change, the electric car will have to make significant inroads.

International Business Times—Drones are slowly but steadily becoming mainstream with its increasing use by the military and enthusiasts alike. However,the commercial usage of drones for business-to-customer operations is what will actually make them common. One such usage of dronesis for making deliveries. Unmanned aerial vehicles might be a great alternative to the current system of making deliveries

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.

Supply Chain Management Review—Supply chain logistics often focus on offsite storage and transportation. These are incredibly important aspects, of course, but it does overlook one thing that can be very effective — on site storage and basic assembly. It sounds like common sense, but a lot of small businesses don’t take advantage of the space they have.

Bloomberg—The global cyberattack that has been wending its way across started creating real consequences at some businesses even as the virus’s spread seemed to be abating. FedEx Corp. said it could suffer a "material" financial impact after the bug affected the worldwide operations of its TNT Express delivery unit. Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S shut down systems across its operations to contain the cyberattack and said the impact on its business is "being assessed."

Reuters—India's greatest tax reform – replacing an array of provincial duties with a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST)– is transforming the logistics industry in a country where moving stuff around is notoriously difficult to do, executives say. Companies that have previously based storage models on tax efficiency can move to the much more cost efficient, demand-based hub-and-spoke model used globally.

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EBN—Cyberattacks are no longer limited to front office interactions with individual customers. The amount of data now integrated into smart products, manufacturing equipment and other machines that keep operations running is a sweet temptation for hackers. The threat of a cyber-attack and potential fallout after a security breach poses new risks manufacturers should consider and act on.

Modern Materials Handling—In sports, it is often said that the best offense is a good defense. That can be as true in warehousing and distribution as on the athletic field. Here are seven things that can help optimize the contribution of your warehouse and distribution center to your company’s success in this increasingly tightening global logistics market.

MHI Blog—Logistics will play a major role in shaping the Sharing Economy according to a new DHL Trend Report titled "Sharing Economy Logistics– Rethinking Logistics with access over ownership." The report asserts that embracing digital platforms and business models built around sharing, not owning, assets presents a significant future opportunity for the logistics industry. While the concept of sharing is not new, logistics providers can leverage this trend via more cost-effective usage of warehouse space, more efficient transportation and delivery methods or flexible staffing models.