A survey that examines manufacturer and consumer perceptions about how products are made, sold, bought and consumed reveals a focus on quality, supply chains that are more transparent than ever but a decline in overall optimism, according to Underwriters Laboratories.
The cross-border supply chain finance market space for companies employing over 500 employees and which are domiciled in the UK, France and Germany is estimated to be more than €460bn, or about $646bn, according to Demica's latest research report.
Revenues accumulated by the global mobile application market are expected to pass the $30bn milestone by the end of this year, according to new market data from ABI Research.
The National Council of Chain Restaurants is urging repeal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), claiming it is disastrously costly for the restaurant industry, commodity prices and the food supply chain. The lobbying group released a 32-page report, which can be read in its entirety at http://www.NCCR.net.
The average size of each pharmaceutical theft incident in U.S. so far in 2012 has been about $120,000. Compare that to just four years ago, in 2009, when the average incident resulted in losses of about $4m. That is an astonishing reduction of more than 30 times in just four years. Furthermore, the number of incidents during the same period has been cut in half. What is the cause of this phenomenal success?
In today's rapidly changing market, companies are increasingly competing on the efficiency, effectiveness and agility of their supply chains. Much has been written about the agility of Apple's supply chain - a recent article in The New York Times highlighted this when they described how Apple switched from plastic to glass screen six weeks before the launch - and in that time-frame they had to find a new supplier, perfect the fabrication of samples, and get to production-level volume. In a recent Gartner survey Apple was at the top of the list in key metrics, including inventory turns (Samsung's inventory turn was 17.1, while Apple's was 74.1).
China is transforming itself from a source of low-cost manufacturing for western consumers to a potentially huge market for domestic production. Ron Tarter, senior vice president and general manager of Flextronics, discusses how his company and others are adjusting to the shift.