Consumer Packaged Goods

European Wind-Power Supergrid to Launch in March

December 12, 2016

In 2010, world leading companies in offshore wind came together to form The Friends of the Supergrid - an association that advocates for an efficient, interconnected and resilient electricity grid to complement existing national transmission infrastructure.

RFID to Help Consumers Know if Olive Oil Is Really Extra-Virgin

December 8, 2016

RFID Journal

Olive oil producers in the Italian region of Tuscany are adopting an RFID-enabled service designed to better inform customers about the finer details of their products. Brands such as Buonamici, La Ranocchiaia, SPO and Il Cavallino are integrating SpeedTap passive RFID tags created by Thin Film Electronics (Thinfilm) into the labels of their olive oil bottles.

HPE Rolls Out Products to Enable IoT Adoption

December 7, 2016

Computerworld

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has announced several software and hardware products to more securely manage the exploding universe of Internet of Things devices. October's Mirai botnet attack on unsecured IoT devices, which halted widespread access to dozens of popular internet sites, dramatizes the value of more comprehensive management and control of IoT, HPE executives said.

Wal-Mart's Labor Scheduling Overhaul Could Transform Retail

December 7, 2016

Apparel

Wal-Mart has announced it will change employee scheduling systems and processes across 650 of its U.S. stores - with the goal of improving peak hour staffing and provide more predictability over hours for employees.

McDonald's Alters Supply Chain to Swap Frozen Patties for Fresh Beef

December 7, 2016

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

McDonald's Corp. is expanding a program that ditches frozen patties in favor of fresh beef, making another break with decades of fast-food practices in a bid to revitalize the chain. Fresh beef is now being used in some sandwiches in more than 75 restaurants in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area, McDonald's said in a statement, extending trials that began in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, where the company is preparing fresh beef in 55 locations.

California Vehicle Sales Stall After Years of Sustained Growth

December 6, 2016

Los Angeles Times

By the slimmest of margins, California's remarkable winning streak for sales of new cars, trucks and SUVs has finally come to an end, falling just short of reaching six years of sustained growth.

Textile Index: Cotton, Polyester and Wool Prices on the Rise

December 6, 2016

Supply Management

Declining cotton production last season has led to prices rising year-on-year, according to Mintec's latest textile index. Yet, U.S. production in the current season is likely to rise by 25 percent and reduce pressure on prices.

Global Parcel Shipping to Grow 20 Percent by 2018, Study Says

December 6, 2016

MultiChannel Merchant

Parcel shipping volume will grow annually at 5 to 7 percent between now and 2018, for a total increase of 20 percent, with the biggest gains coming in cross-border shipping, according to a study from Pitney Bowes.

Beyond Black Friday: New Challenges for Holiday Retailers

December 5, 2016

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

This year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday were bigger than ever. But the numbers could be concealing an underlying trend away from those key dates in the retail calendar.

U.S. Third-Quarter Growth Revised Upward on Consumer Spending

December 5, 2016

Industryweek

The U.S. economy expanded more than previously reported last quarter on a sunnier picture of household spending, the primary growth engine. Gross domestic product rose at a 3.2-percent annualized rate in the three months ended in September, the fastest in two years, compared with an initial estimate of 2.9 percent, Commerce Department figures showed last week. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 3-percent gain.