Lufthansa Technik and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have announced an agreement to create an aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility to service short-haul and medium-haul aircraft.
The past couple of decades have been marked by a stream of organizations shifting operations abroad, lured by the promise of cheap labor and production. However, this dynamic is changing amidst rising costs and an increasingly complex global supply chain. Now, the trend is to at least consider re-shoring.
Add Spartanburg, S.C., to the list of manufacturing hotspots. That's where BMW AG last week announced it will invest $1bn to build the equivalent of a new factory to its already formidable U.S. production site. Following the expansion, BMW's U.S. complex will become the automaker's biggest, larger than any it operates in Germany, its home.
Construction on the South Batinah Logistics Hub, a strategic initiative of the Omani government to kick-start the growth of a logistics-based economic sector in the Sultanate, will be launched this year. Covering 9,000 hectares, the hub will incorporate Oman’s first ever inland port as well as dedicated zones earmarked for multimodal connectivity, light industries, value-adding activities, commercial services, warehousing and logistics, urban and residential developments, hotels and convention centres, and leisure areas.
The "lights-out warehouse" is a little like Bigfoot: a mythical idea everyone in the material handling industry has heard about but few have actually seen. It's been a buzzword for years, yet just a handful of companies have made the leap to a fully automated distribution center, despite abundant indications that it would increase efficiency and profit margins.
Analyst Insight: Supply chain complexity and turmoil is on the rise due to growing global markets, increasing customer expectations, rising costs and more intense competitive pressures. Progressive companies understand that supply chain performance has a significant impact on the bottom line and shareholder value, and they must reinvent their supply chain networks on a regular basis in order to remain competitive. However, the traditional way of designing supply chain networks with a focus on cost optimization is giving way to more progressive thinking. - John Spain, Executive Vice President, Tompkins International
