Supply chains are in a state of transformation. Traditional models are radically changing as technology and innovation create more intelligent supply chains that are faster, more efficient and more connected. This issue of MHI Solutions focuses on how to successfully connect and automate your supply chain, from best practices in automatic identification to inventory and network optimization tools to the impact of automated and mobile supply chain solutions.

Driverless vehicles, drones, 3-D printing and wearable technology certainly beckon for supply chains. But before moving on to the latest in whiz-bang gadgetry, a stabilizing question: Just how "optimized" are your network and inventories first?

Mike Rowe, best known for his past role on Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs and his own production on CNN Somebody’s Gotta Do It, is giving back through his mikeroweWORKS Foundation. The foundation supports the skilled trades by awarding scholarships to students who show outstanding work ethic and interest in mastering a specific trade. At the 2015 MHI Executive Summit and Annual Conference this October, the TV host, writer, narrator, producer, actor and spokesman will speak on Why Dirty Jobs Matter. 

Firms must include supply chain security as part of their strategy to reduce the risk of data breaches, according to an expert panel at the recent Infosecurity Europe 2015 event in London.

In addition to examining the eight innovative technologies anticipated to help companies meet customer demands for faster, better service at lower costs, the 2015 MHI Annual Industry Report: Supply chain innovation – Making the impossible possible acknowledges that the skill sets of the workers supporting them must be equally as sophisticated as the technologies themselves.

In 2014, the Global third-party logistics (3PL) market expanded to $750.7 billion and the U.S. 3PL market grew 7.4% to $157.2 billion.

MHI Roundtable leader and MHI member John Hill recently discussed the findings of the 2015 MHI Annual Industry Report with Supply Chain Brain’s Russell Goodman.

Total US business logistics costs rose to $1.45 trillion in 2014, a 3.1% increase from the previous year, according to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) 26th Annual State of Logistics Report®.

MHI is launching a new communications tool – MHI view – a video communications platform that will release content designed to spark manufacturing and supply chain innovation by sharing useful information about the industry’s maturing, growing and emerging technologies.

Although automation and use of robots to improve efficiency, productivity and employee safety are the norm throughout the manufacturing industry, the warehouse and distribution industry has been slower to adopt automation technology. While the same benefits of automation apply, barriers such as cost justification, flexibility of systems and lack of awareness of emerging technologies are reasons for continued reliance on manual operations.

Moving a roll of cloth destined for military uniforms from manufacturer to warehouse to fabricator has been, until recently, a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. The introduction of automatic identification—specifically Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)—has transformed it.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is working on a mobile app internally that would pay consumers to pick up their packages at various retail locations and deliver them to their final destination.

Mike Rowe, from CNN’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It and formerly of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, will be a headliner at the MHI 2015 Executive Summit & Annual Conference, October 4 - 7 in Ponte Vedra, Florida.