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Improving the Material Handling Industry Workforce through Digital Representations of Human-Based Operations * By Jesus A. Jimenez * This year, I was part of a group of professors who traveled to Europe to participate in what we designated as the “Industry 4.0 Tour.” We had one goal in mind: to find the latest developments in Industry 4.0. We visited several ...

By its very definition, intermodal is a web of deeply connected functions. As one part is impacted, it often creates a ripple effect. Heading into 2020, though, intermodal trends have the added complexity of outside forces creating a lot of volatility. * By Sandy Smith * By its very definition, intermodal is a web of deeply connected functions. As one ...

An Interview with Randy V. Bradley, Ph.D., CPHIMS, FHIMSS Associate Professor of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, The University of Tennessee * By Carol Miller * For the past six years, MHI has produced our Annual Industry Report to present the findings of a comprehensive survey of industry leaders across manufacturing and distribution supply chains. Queried about current and ...

To truly understand e-commerce’s impact on supply chains, follow the movement of goods through the middle mile, e.g. from port to warehouse/DC, between warehouse and from warehouse to e-commerce storage areas. * By Mary Lou Jay * Last mile delivery is often the focus of discussions about e-commerce’s impact on supply chains. But movement of goods through the middle mile—from ...

Learn some of the key ingredients needed as companies and their 3PL service providers define and create win-win partnerships, as well as how they measure success. * By Sara Pearson Specter * Engaging a third-party logistics (3PL) service provider for outsourced logistics and supply chain services has become a common practice among companies of all sizes. Indeed, research from 3PL ...

These nine technological advances are reshaping supply chains, and allowing projects to be completed quicker and with a higher level of accuracy. * By Nick Fortuna * Autonomous Trucking Jason Gillespie is looking forward to a time when autonomous trucks can handle the lonely part of truck driving, the grinding long-haul trips that keep drivers away from their families and ...

Fresh industry faces and sophisticated new tools are making automation a crucial piece of the freight brokerage field. * By Tom Gresham * Spurred on by innovative new industry players and the increasingly ambitious investments in technology by the field’s more traditional companies, freight brokerages have taken a major step toward more fully embracing the digital in their processes, leading ...

How will digital, connected technologies address the challenges posed by urban freight in an e-commerce world? * By Sara Pearson Specter * Four years ago, the 2016 MHI Annual Industry Report explored the emergence of Smart City Logistics and the potential for digital, connected technologies to address the significant challenges posed by urban freight in an e-commerce world. Fast forward ...

MHI Solutions, MHI’s award-winning quarterly magazine, is mailed and/or emailed to more than 100,000 people four times a year. So, at this time of the year, it is interesting to see which articles were the most popular reads online. The most online visits came from these five states – Illinois, North Carolina, California, Texas and Georgia – and these were ...

CEO UPDATE: A New Era of Supply Chain Sustainability Is Rising * By George W. Prest, Chief Executive Officer, MHI  * Consumers are becoming more interested in making environmentally friendly decisions when it comes to their buying habits and the brands to which they are loyal. Studies have found anywhere from 80-85% of consumers are more likely to buy from ...