Industry Trends

Six months ago, the U.S. Census Bureau noted that a quarter of our nation’s population is now made up of 83.1 million millennials (born between 1982 and 2000). So, it should be a snap to fill those 1.4 million new supply chain jobs the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics predicts our industry will create by 2018—right? Well, maybe. ...

About a year ago, a copy of The U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics made its way into the hands of supply chain leaders at P&G. After reading it, they had this to say: “You may think you have a U.S. Roadmap here, but you don’t. What you have is a global Roadmap.” To tell the truth, it was ...

Passing the buck” doesn’t work when it comes to an outsourced supply chain. Here, whatever happens—no matter how far down the line—problems, challenges or missteps will be seen as part and parcel of the company’s image. Disastrous weather affecting production? Lack of compliance with international law? A different understanding of quality controls? Labor issues? In today’s demanding, transparency-seeking marketplace, outsourcing ...

Today’s pharmaceutical sector looks healthy on the surface. It’s growing and expanding into new markets. It’s taking advantage of increased understanding about diseases and treatments, and society increasingly relies on “better living through chemistry.” But this industry is prone to some side effects, too. And, at the risk of sounding like a pharmaceutical ad, these side effects could include impacts ...

A year ago, the MHI Board of Governors and the members of the Annual Conference Workgroup—the committee responsible for planning the event—unveiled a modified format for the MHI fall gathering. Historically known as MHI’s Annual Meeting, the consensus among MHI’s volunteer leadership was that the event could offer additional membership value. Most of the work conducted at the Annual Meeting, ...

During the March 25 keynote at ProMat 2015, MHI released the 2015 MHI Annual Industry Report: Supply chain innovation—Making the impossible possible. In this second report, MHI again partnered with Deloitte to conduct a survey of the decision makers responsible for one of the most critical components of business success today: the supply chain. Managers of traditional supply chains should ...

Since the dawn of time, we’ve all known that two halves make a whole. Yin and yang, peanut butter and jelly, Siskel and Ebert. It is all about synergy; igniting new ideas and partaking in unexpected debates that lead to revolutionary breakthroughs. The byproduct? Financial results. In today’s enterprise market, the two halves are the supply chain professional (or end-user) ...

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 ...

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? If you’re missing the connection, the recent 2015 MHI Annual Industry Report spoke of numerous emerging technologies expected to transform traditional supply chain models in ...

In the U.S. and international auto industry, the wheels are spinning. That cliché takes on multiple meanings in today’s automotive manufacturing sector. There are the new ideas that come from a technological revolution and infotainment that is common place in today’s vehicles. Then there’s the lack of traction that comes when pressure from regulators— pushing for more fuel efficiency and ...