Two years ago, a robot crushed a 22-year-old man to death at a Volkswagen AG factory in Germany after the maintenance worker became trapped in an area usually off-bound to humans. While this type of tragedy is still relatively rare, efforts to improve safety are intensifying as factories around the world become increasingly automated.

Electronic logs are taking fuzzy math out of trucking.

Digital workplace programs often lose their way, or fail, due to a fragmented approach that prioritizes a few technology "fixes" over business strategy. To combat this, digital workplace leaders need to employ a framework to ensure their digital workplace initiatives address all of the eight critical components required for a successful implementation, says Gartner, Inc.

Volkswagen, the German auto giant, is preparing for a swift expansion in its output of electric cars next year - and the biggest jump in production will be in China. General Motors is making China the hub of its electric car research and development. Renault-Nissan, the French and Japanese carmaker, and Ford Motor have hustled to set up joint electric-car ventures in China.

Carriers and third-party logistics operators have warned for years of an impending driver shortage, and now it is becoming clearer that this is a symptom of a much broader labor shortage facing the logistics industry that will impact drivers, dispatchers, and warehouse and dock workers.

Just before Stefan Seltz-Axmacher offers a job to an engineer at Starsky Robotics Inc., a driverless trucking startup in San Francisco, he gives them the talk.