Accountability - the ability of people to understand what is expected of them, exercise authority, and take responsibility for delivering results - is an important dimension of organizational health. Of course, some companies are better at fostering it than others.
A decade ago, consumers accepted waiting a week for their product but now with the infusion of companies such as Amazon and Alibaba, consumers are making their purchase decisions based on how quickly they will receive the product. In order to stay competitive in the marketplace, companies are turning to 3D printing to create their products quicker.
During the long downturn in R&D productivity, a handful of biopharmaceutical companies have consistently bucked the trend. How did they manage it? After all, they have experienced the same industry pressures as their peers - pressures such as lengthier R&D cycle times, higher costs of failure, and sharper regulatory scrutiny.
The women's leadership organization AWESOME (Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain, Operations, Management and Education) is inviting senior women leaders in supply chain to participate in the organization's fourth annual symposium, taking place April 27-29 in Portland, Ore.
Weft has developed a real-time ranking of global container ports. It is intended to provide companies with data related to such processes as procurement, contract negotiations and other shipment-planning decisions.
It's easy to scoff at the anti-free-trade rhetoric emanating from the U.S. presidential campaign trail. Donald Trump keeps yelling about China, Mexico and Japan. Bernie Sanders won't stop shouting about greedy multinational corporations. Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are awkwardly leaning in the same direction. If you're a typical pro-trade business executive, you're tempted to ask: Were these people throwing Frisbees on the quad during Econ 101?
The transportation and warehousing industry suffered more than 95,000 industrial accidents and illnesses in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. That works out to 225 per 10,000 workers - one of the highest rates of any industry. Most estimates put the annual cost of workplace injuries at more than $50bn, so it makes sense from a business as well as a moral point of view to make safety a priority. The following are some proven ways to increase safety.
Without question, technology has been a boon to global trade. But it's also responsible for raising the risk factor at every stage of the supply chain - and especially at ports and terminals.