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MHI Blog -- Supply Chain Insights recently announced the winners of the Supply Chains to Admire for 2015. This research identifies companies that outperformed their industry peer group in four key metrics: year-over-year growth, inventory turns, operating margin, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) while driving improvement. This analysis for the period of 2006-2014 rates companies on the supply chain metrics which have the highest correlation to market.
Visit http://s354933259.onlinehome.us/mhi-blog/supply-chains-to-admire-for-2015/ to view the full article online. |
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The Wall Street Journal -- The deadly explosions that rocked Tianjin could create logistical delays and other supply chain problems for months to come, even as operations at the port itself return to normal, according to a new report by Resilinc, a supply chain technology firm. Day-to-day operations have largely resumed at Tianjin’s port, roughly a month after two explosions killed over 100 people and caused widespread damage. However, Resilinc found a number of factors that will have a lasting impact on companies with supply chains tied to Tainjin. Chief among them: uncertainty over how China’s government will respond to the incident, which was caused by the improper storage of hazardous chemicals and is still being investigated.
Visit http://www.wsj.com/articles/tianjin-explosions-to-affect-supply-chains-for-months-report-finds-1441742989?tesla=y to view the full article online. |
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Silicon Valley Business Journal -- Google and Amazon have helped to halt a California bill that might have grounded their ambitious drone programs. California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the latest drone bill on Wednesday evening. The legislation, which passed both California houses in August, would have banned unmanned aircraft from flying 350 above property without the property owner’s consent.
Visit http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2015/09/10/google-amazon-help-defeat-california-drone.html to view the full article online. |
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Material Handling & Logistics -- A new solar electric car called Arcturus will race in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, Australia, in October. The car, sponsored by UPS and The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, was designed and built by a team of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Arcturus, which weighs 490 pounds, uses solar energy to charge a battery. It consumes the same amount of energy as a hand-held hairdryer to sustain speeds of more than 60 mph.
Visit http://mhlnews.com/technology-automation/solar-electric-car-helps-bring-technology-closer-commercialization to view the full article online. |
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Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/mhi-newswire/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=338441&issueID=40826 to view the full article online. |
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EBN -- Supply Chain Execution Convergence (SCEC) describes the next generation of supply chains, which create a totally integrated supply chain by bringing together individual silos within the organization. This model offers supply chain managers new ways to create end-to-end visibility and the ability to quickly react to disruptions. Moving forward towards SCEC adoption is a necessity for today's global supply chain managers. In order to achieve supply chain excellence supply chains must operate on international systems, or use a common end-to-end process to be connected to all global partners.
Visit http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1364&doc_id=278612& to view the full article online. |
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Green Biz -- Recently, a Toronto-based law firm filed a class action lawsuit of $2 billion in damages against a major retailer in Canada in relation to the 2013 Rana Plaza Bangladesh garment factory collapse, in which over 1,000 people lost their lives and over 2,500 were gravely injured. The lawsuit alleged that the retailers had prior knowledge about the "extremely poor record" of workplace safety and industrial building standards in Bangladesh. The allegations also claim that the retailer was aware of the "significant and specific risk" to workers who manufactured the brand’s garments and whom their subcontractors in Bangladesh employed.
Visit http://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-much-do-you-want-know-about-your-supply-chain to view the full article online. |
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Bloomberg -- The rise of the machines in the workplace has U.S. and European experts predicting massive unemployment and tumbling wages. Not in Japan, where robots are welcomed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government as an elegant way to handle the country’s aging populace, shrinking workforce and public aversion to immigration.
Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-13/in-japan-the-rise-of-the-machines-solves-labor-and-productivity to view the full article online. |
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Modern Materials Handling -- I’m at a materials handling conference – the 30th annual Material Handling & Logistics Conference sponsored by Dematic in Park City, Utah – and yet, nearly every session I’ve attended has referenced the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining the people needed to run our facilities. And the talent shortage doesn’t come up just at this event. A few weeks ago, I received a call from a plant manager in Wisconsin who complained that he is in a constant struggle to get enough people who are willing to show up at 7 and work until 3 to man the assembly line.
Visit http://www.mmh.com/article/think_differently_about_the_talent_shortage to view the full article online. |
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Material Handling & Logistics -- If you can’t find exactly the right item for family and friends on your Christmas gift list, don’t blame it on the ports. "After supply chain worries earlier this year, inventories are plentiful this fall," says Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy with the National Retail Federation. "Shoppers should have no worries about finding what they’re looking for as they begin their holiday shopping."
Visit http://mhlnews.com/global-supply-chain/santa-s-supply-chain-sleigh-should-be-full-year to view the full article online. |
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Argus -- Three of the largest railroads serving North America yesterday warned Congress they might be forced to halt or substantially curtail freight and passenger traffic if the 31 December deadline to implement positive train control (PTC) is not extended. Western carrier BNSF, eastern carrier Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific wrote US Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Thune (R-South Dakota) to warn of massive service disruptions if the deadline for installation of the $9bn hardware and software safety system is not extended.
Visit http://www.argusmedia.com/News/Article?id=1101631 to view the full article online. |
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Supply Management -- Companies have to forget the ideal of lean inventories and start to "right size" them, according to research. A study by AT Kearney said while many supply chains have benefited from leaner inventories, for others it has gone too far. It acknowledged the benefits of having a lean inventory, including reducing waste, but highlighted examples where spikes in demand or supply chain disruption had caused inventory problems.
Visit http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2015/forget-lean-and-right-size-your-supply-chain-inventory-research-advises to view the full article online. |
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Modern Materials Handling -- North American sales of machine vision systems and components grew 16% to $1.2 billion in the first half of 2015, the market’s highest first half total in history, according to new statistics issued by AIA, the industry’s trade group. Total machine vision sales include sales of machine vision systems and components. The machine vision systems category saw a year over year increase of 18% to $1.0 billion in the first half of 2015. Machine vision systems include smart cameras and application specific machine vision (ASMV) systems. Smart cameras expanded by 13% to $151.3 million, while ASMV systems increased 19% to $892.3 million in the first half of the year.
Visit http://www.mmh.com/article/north_american_machine_vision_market_sets_new_record_in_first_half_of_2015 to view the full article online. |
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Industry Week -- Robot installations are estimated to increase an average of 12% per year from 2015 to 2017, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Those IFR statistics note that "human-machine collaboration will open up new applications and attract new customers." In spite of the IFR’s findings, the traditional thinking in robotics is that as parts get bigger and heavier, robots must grow in size, too. But labor doesn't work that way, and neither should robots. If a part becomes too big for a human worker to lift, he might tap a jib crane to move the piece into position. Robots can work in the same way and be built on a scale to work alongside humans, using human tools to perform tasks.
Visit http://www.industryweek.com/robotics/robots-working-eye-eye-humans to view the full article online. |
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Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/mhi-newswire/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=338442&issueID=40826 to view the full article online. |
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Industrial Distribution -- In today's world of e-commerce in industrial distribution, speed and mobility are key. Just like how any customer who orders a blender from Amazon.com expects it to be on their doorstep two days later or less, businesses ordering industrial products now expect the same speedy service from distributors. As the pace of b2b continues to transform distribution trends, it appears one of them is in the distribution centers themselves. New data from real estate firm CBRE Inc. shows that demand for industrial facilities under 200,000 square feet in urban areas is on the rise.
Visit http://www.inddist.com/blogs/2015/09/e-commerce-driving-demand-smaller-urban-distribution-centers to view the full article online. |
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Internet Retailer -- After a slow start, Canadian consumers are turning to online shopping as domestic and foreign retailers, including many with U.S. roots, make e-commerce more attractive.
Visit https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/09/01/canada-gets-serious-about-e-commerce to view the full article online. |
