Industry Trends

Feature The manufacturing and supply chain community came together in a big way after four years for a record-setting ProMat event, according to show producer MHI. With an overall registration count of 50,924 and 1,051 exhibitors, the event featured 562,700 net square feet of exhibit solutions and over 150 educational sessions encompassing 1.2 million square feet at Chicago’s McCormick Place. ...

OCTOBER 1-4, 2023DIPLOMAT BEACH RESORT, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL Learn more & register today at mhi.org/conference. The 2023 MHI Annual Conference is an interactive thought leadership event for manufacturing, material handling and supply chain professionals that focuses on the technology innovation taking place across the supply chain industry—and the associated workforce challenges highlighted in the 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report. By ...

Feature Does the customer remain at the center? BY FIONA SOLTES ISTOCK.COM/IPOPBA Action and adaptability, said speaker and author Garrison Wynn, create opportunity. After years of experiencing the former, it’s surely the time for the latter. With pandemic-related disruptions and reactive solutions increasingly in the rearview mirror, has there ever been a better season for re-evaluating overall supply chain strategies ...

By The Numbers BLUE PLANET STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM It’s an increasingly common refrain: 83% of supply chain practitioners surveyed by Gartner say they’re being asked to improve customer experience as part of their organization’s digital business strategy. The most common priority is developing a customer-centric culture. According to the Gartner for Supply Chain Report “Four Steps to Becoming a Customer-Centric Supply Chain,” ...

Solutions Community BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP ISTOCK.COM/JAY YUNO As the rate of change in the logistics industry continues to grow exponentially, companies across the supply chain are increasingly partnering to find solutions that allow every aspect of the market to perform more effectively and efficiently. Industrywide collaboration is necessary, but ensuring a successful partnership ...

Feature Now is the time to prioritize data and visibility BY NICOLE NELSON BLUE PLANET STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Autonomous planning is increasingly being embraced as a supply chain solution to augment the ongoing worker shortage. Requiring a closed-loop planning approach utilizing a fully automated technology platform, autonomously integrated systems have the ability to oversee and control supply chains from end to end, ...

Industry Focus BY TOM GRESHAM ISTOCK.COM/1933BKK The third-party logistics (3PL) industry is a complex and varied one that includes a wide range of operators. 3PLs serve as crucial partners in the supply chain for manufacturers who opt to outsource some, or all, of their logistics operations, such as warehousing, fulfillment and distribution. The role of 3PLs can differ greatly, but ...

Industry Focus Automated solutions streamline operations in the pharmaceutical and health-products industry. BY NICK FORTUNA Photo provided by ABB Robotics Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur and television personality, made big news last January when his Cost Plus Drug Co. launched its online pharmacy, selling generic medications wholesale to retailers and directly to consumers paying in cash. By limiting its profit ...

Higher Education A Unit-Level Case: Radiology Emergency Viewpoints BY SADAN KULTUREL-KONAK, PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS, PENN STATE BERKS AND MICHAEL A. BRUNO, PROFESSOR OF RADIOLOGY & MEDICINE, PENN STATE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, HERSHEY HXDBZXY/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM For over two and a half years, the world has been fighting COVID-19, with the total death toll passing 6.5 million, and there has been ...

CEO Update This famous quote has never been truer, yet while managing unpredictable supply chain disruptions and meeting increasing customer demands, many businesses overlook the importance of the worker experience and having a strategic workplace safety program in place. At its core, it’s about caring about your people and creating a culture that they want to be a part of—one ...