For 20 years, Boeing has engaged in collaborative product development with a significant number of suppliers. The outsourced R&D, in turn, supported outsourced manufacturing with over 50 key suppliers. These suppliers, in turn, outsourced various parts of the modules they produced to their suppliers. Historically, Boeing was vertically integrated – the great majority of product […]

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Wednesday, February 14 was Valentine’s Day. And according to the National Retail Federation, the holiday returned to its romantic traditions, with total spending on significant others for the holiday expected to reach a record $14.2 billion (the actual numbers won’t be available for a few weeks). Over half of consumers (53 percent) plan to celebrate […]

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It’s human nature to want to start a new year with new goals—the ever-present new year’s resolutions. Typically, we make it at least one month into the new year before we have to revise our plans. However, it’s only early February 2024, and we already have several major disruptions impacting supply chains. As Alan Amling […]

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5G promises high bandwidth, low latency, and massive IoT device connectivity. For industry, the ability to better connect machines, objects, and devices is what is driving excitement for this technology. Patrick Arnold, a research analyst at ARC Advisory Group, says that suppliers of industrial solutions are responding by investing in new product design and incorporating […]

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With two young daughters who undeniably identify as Swifties, the football playoffs have become a big deal in our house. While they both generally enjoy watching football, things get a lot more interesting when the Chiefs are playing. My youngest daughter just yells for them to throw the ball to Travis Kelce on every play […]

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In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, optimizing warehouse operations is crucial for achieving operational efficiency. Predictive and prescriptive analytics have emerged as valuable tools that enable warehouse operations managers to streamline processes, minimize costs, and enhance productivity. While predictive analytics seeks to answer questions such as “what might happen in the future,” prescriptive analytics […]

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Supply chain sustainability has become a very hot topic, but for a lot of people, there is uncertainty around its meaning. Now, more than ever, companies and countries are looking at their overall carbon footprint and trying to establish a path to be more environmentally friendly. A few ways companies can begin to offset their […]

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Walmart is reducing its requirements that suppliers’ shipments to them arrive on-time in-full. Since September of 2020, 98% has been Walmart’s OTIF requirement. Beginning on February 1st, the new OTIF targets became 90% for on-time and 95% for in-full. This was announced on the Retail Link portal for suppliers on January 30th. Walmart’s On-Time In-Full […]

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Today is Groundhog Day, a day that lets us know if we will endure six more weeks of winter or enjoy an early spring. In some sort or another, Punxsutawney Phil has been predicting the weather since 1890, and let’s just say that his record is iffy at best. During the “ceremony,” which begins well […]

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As regulations across the globe strengthen, the pressure to collect, report, and organize emission-related metrics has never been higher. This added responsibility for companies will have lasting effects on business operations, corporate partnerships, supply chain logistics, compliance requirements, and data integrity. Structure Your Data for Seamless Reporting Most reporting statutes already require or will require […]

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  Greenfield construction occurs when a company builds its own, brand-new facilities from the ground up. Brownfield investment happens when companies invest to improve the performance of existing facilities. Greenfield investments are much bigger capital expenditures. This form of investment allows the latest technology to be employed and for a facility to be built that […]

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I have often written about legal issues and battles in California, as the state has been in the news for its warehouse and trucking emission rules, independent contractor rules for gig workers, and union disagreements at ports. Well, this week, I saw a new story about a bill in California that is turning heads. If […]

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Getting started with AI in supply chain might not start where you think. Some try delving into deep learning or a crash course in generative AI (GenAI), but I don’t recommend starting there. Instead start with the foundation of your AI strategy, which should be an understanding of your company’s supply chain and your data. […]

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Last week I attended the annual National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show in New York City. This year, nearly 40,000 attendees comprising 6,200 brands from all over the world headed to the Javits Center to see what new solutions and innovations software and hardware suppliers had in store for 2024 and beyond. The usual themes […]

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Trends last for years. But how often do significant new things happen? In most years, there is nothing new in supply chain management. In the past year, we have seen two genuinely new developments. ESG Enforcement Gets Teeth The US Customs and Border Protection Agency’s stringent enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act has […]

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I spent the beginning part of the week in New York attending the NRF Big Show. It was a very busy show, with more than 35,000 attendees walking the floors of the Javits Center. I certainly saw a lot of exhibitors touting their AI capabilities, especially when it came to more informed decision making across […]

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As a child, I was mesmerized by beauty pageants, especially Miss World, where women from all around the world strutted in gorgeous fashion. I vividly remember the moments when the top winners declared their lofty goals for humanity: solving world hunger! Since the emergence of AI as the shiny object of our times, we see […]

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At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, companies including Hyundai, Nikola, and Bosch presented their most recent fuel cells and hydrogen technology innovations, indicating a potential comeback for this environmentally friendly energy choice. This resurgence might be influenced by the announcement of a $7 billion U.S. government initiative last year aimed at developing hydrogen infrastructure in the country. […]

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The much-delayed Tesla Semi has finally hit the road. The Semi started its first consumer deliveries in 2022. The vehicles have only been delivered to one customer – PepsiCo. Since then, the PepsiCo’s Tesla Semi fleet has grown to almost 100 vehicles. The Tesla Semi is a battery electric Class 8 semi-truck built by Tesla. […]

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