Technology

With analysis of the obvious key performance indicators collected within big data now well understood to be a source of competitive advantage, companies are beginning to wonder what else might be hidden in their vast stockpiles of bits and bytes. Hence the dawning of awareness about “dark data.” * By Carol Miller, MHI Vice President of Marketing and Communications * ...

Company employees as well as people who work for the company’s contractors and third-party suppliers often bear responsibility for cyberthefts, whether they’ve acted maliciously or inadvertently. * By Mary Lou Jay * When you hear that companies have suffered a cyber-related data or monetary loss, your immediate reaction may be to assume that the culprits were automated bots fielded by ...

Companies of all sizes—even ones that might not trust each other or know each other—are collaborating to advance this new technology. * By Nick Fortuna * Blockchain experts often describe the new technology as a trustless system because it allows two parties that might not trust each other, or even know one another, to conduct business securely and transparently. But ...

Protect your company data with protocols, training and monitoring because all businesses are at risk if data security is not part of the day-to-day culture. * By Sheryl S. Jackson * A record high of 1,579 data breaches occurred in 2017—a 44.7 percent increase over 2016—with the business category topping the list for the third year in a row at ...

Cybersecurity concerns roll into the roadways as transportation vehicles become more high-tech and computerized. * By Fiona Soltes * As the journey toward connectivity, mobility, new technology and the Internet of Things continues to gather speed, it can be tempting to accelerate the search for solutions at the same time. This especially can be the case when it comes to ...

2018 MHI Annual Industry Report Highlights NextGen Innovations and How to Overcome Top Barriers to Their Adoption * By Carol Miller, MHI Vice President of Marketing and Communications * For the fifth consecutive year, MHI and the Deloitte Consulting LLP research team—led by Scott Sopher, principal and leader of the Global Supply Chain Practice—queried more than 1,100 manufacturing and supply ...

They’re collaborative, they’re autonomous, they’re intelligent. Fast-evolving technology in robotics—now often called “co-botics”—is allowing machines to pick, pack, tug and transport in ways they haven’t in the past. Cheaper than ever, more flexible than ever, they’re offering sensible solutions to the supply chain’s increasing need for speed. * By Amy Drew Thompson * Valvoline. Volleyball nets. Vegan cookbooks. Viagra. A ...

Is Blockchain the Answer to Supply Chain Security? * By Mary Lou Jay * Three years ago, when Nick Vyas spoke at the University of Southern California’s Supply Chain Digital Transformation Hackathon, he asked the 300-member audience how many had ever heard of blockchain. “Just four hands went up,” recalled Vyas, assistant professor of clinical data sciences and operations at ...

Artificial Intelligence Poised to Have Big Impact on Supply Chains * By Nick Fortuna * One machine looks like the world’s biggest Roomba vacuum cleaner, and the other is somewhat reminiscent of the classic claw-machine arcade games that let players try to grab a prize of their choosing, usually to no avail. But the self-driving vehicle and the bin-picking robot ...

The Definition of Last Mile Is Changing and So Are the Solutions and Options * By Sandy Smith * If there was any doubt just how important the last mile was throughout the supply chain, consider this cautionary note from the 2018 MHI Annual Industry Report: “An inability to solve the riddle of the last mile has driven many promising ...