Despite all the hype surrounding America's supposed Manufacturing Renaissance, the data has painted a starker picture for some time. Hardly a renaissance, U.S. manufacturing has seemed to be closer to a recession.
Bribery scandals have dominated headlines in several countries in recent months, among them India and Nigeria. International enforcement of anti-bribery laws has been increasing in the United States and major European countries.
Employees at the Chinese factories of Apple supplier Foxconn continue to work beyond the country's legal limit of 49 hours a week, according to a report from the Fair Labor Association (FLA). But the Taiwanese manufacturer is making overall steady progress in improving the working conditions at a select group of factories in China, it said.
Today's supply chain is reliant on a complex network involving the movement of goods, services, funds and information across a range of parties worldwide. This makes the supply chain vulnerable to not only cyber-attacks and disruptions, but also cyber espionage.
The automotive manufacturing industry is becoming more complex than ever before. More models, including hybrids, are being introduced, and there are now more features and options, with technology used to drive end-market price and model differentiation.
The latest spate of auto recalls came last month when auto giants Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mazda were focused to recall more than 3.4 million vehicles as a result of faulty air bags originating from Takata Corp in Japan. Since the initial announcement, BMW has come forward with a related recall action of more than 200,000 of their cars.
Although fleet bankruptcies get most of the attention, the slow, steady and largely unnoticed downsizing of fleets will have a major impact on freight capacity as tonnage picks up, according to Derek Leathers, president and COO of Werner Enterprises.
CEVA Logistics, a supply chain company, announced the official opening of the City of Pharma in Italy. The hub, which covers an area of 20,000 square meters, is strategically located in Stradella, in the province of Pavia and is fully dedicated to the warehousing and handling of products destined for healthcare distribution channels.
The myth of showrooming - the suggestion that tons of shoppers are flooding stores to only use them as a physical showroom as they had always intended to purchase the product at Amazon - lives on. But a survey conducted in late April by Bizrate Insights is helping to add a little clarity. First, showrooming really doesn't happen very often. But more interestingly, when it does, it's more likely to be within the same chain. That's a problem all right, but the name of that problem isn't showrooming. It's internal politics.