Automotive

Use of Robotics Grows in Manufacturing and Distribution

August 22, 2012

A new wave of robots, far more adept than those now commonly used by automakers and other heavy manufacturers, are replacing workers around the world in both manufacturing and distribution. Such factories are a striking counterpoint to those used by Apple and other consumer electronics giants, which employ hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers.

What's the Right Price Tag for CRM System?

August 20, 2012

CIO

Making the business case for an accounting or HR system is clear-cut: Avoid unnecessary costs, manage cash better, reduce risk and you're done. If you were to invest twice as much in one of those systems, you might increase business payoff by 20 percent, so you can find the optimization point for ROI in a single spreadsheet. But what about the customer relationship management system?

Advanced Sourcing - Achieving the Next Level of Savings and Efficiency in Your Supply Chain

August 17, 2012

CombineNet

In the supply chain and sourcing domains, companies are changing the way they source, produce and distribute goods or services to their customers, in search of reduced costs and greater efficiency.

Can Automotive Supply Chain Overcome Challenges Facing It?

August 16, 2012

Industry Week

Anyone in the business of manufacturing automobiles, trucks and automotive components back in the tumultuous years of 2008 and 2009 might be tempted to put their metaphorical transmission into neutral, reveling just a little bit in the success that surrounds an industry that is experiencing something akin to a rebirth. But as sweet as that might seem in the short term, there are significant challenges facing automotive suppliers despite the improving production outlook.

Why Southeast Michigan's Economy Is Bouncing Back

August 14, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

What Rust Belt? Timothy Butler, associate professor at Wayne State University's School of Business Administration, details how Southeast Michigan's economy - of which the automotive industry is a major piece - is recovering.

FirstCarbon Solutions Expands Partnership With Carbon Disclosure Project

August 9, 2012

FirstCarbon Solutions

FirstCarbon Solutions, a provider of software and consulting services to enhance the environmental sustainability of business, has expanded its partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). FirstCarbon will score companies' submissions on their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon-management strategies to CDP Supply Chain. The latter works with global companies to measure and understand the impact of climate change across supply chains. An independent, non-profit organization, CDP helps companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share information on environmental risk and opportunity.

Open or Closed Supply Chains: Which Way to Go?

July 23, 2012

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Supply chains are just as susceptible to faddish behavior as anything else. We're social animals, so we tend to follow the crowd - especially if we believe that the crowd has a competitive edge. That's why so many companies flocked to China over the last couple of decades, in search of ever-cheaper sources of production. Or why outsourcing became such a hot trend over that same period of time.

More Than a Third of Global Cyber Attacks Aimed at Small Businesses, Research Shows

July 17, 2012

Symantec

Thirty-six percent of all targeted attacks (58 per day) during the last six months were directed at businesses with 250 or fewer employees, according to the June 2012 Intelligence Report from Symantec. The figure was 18 percent at the end of December 2011.

How Long Since You Had an ERP 'Refresh'? There Have Been a Lot of Developments Since Then.

July 13, 2012

Industry Week

To put it mildly, today's ERP is not what it was a decade ago. In terms of mobility, speed and actionable intelligence, technology was in its infancy at the turn of the century.

World's Struggling Economy Affects China's Retail Sector a Bit, But It's Still Quite Vibrant

July 3, 2012

Business Week

China's retail sales growth slowed to 13.8 percent in May, down from the 16-0percent to 18-percent annual growth analysts have grown accustomed to. Many analysts are panicking, saying the data indicate the end of the Chinese consumption story. These fears are overblown.