Food & Beverage

How the Company Bean Counter Can Really Demonstrate His or Her Value

January 27, 2015

Brian Holland, the CFO and president of Fleet Advantage, a truck leasing and big data firm, was trying to put his finger on what it means to be a finance chief at the kind of fast-growing, sales-driven companies that have employed him over his more than 20-year career. And then he thought of something a former boss had said to him: “You’re one of the few bean counters that I can even stand to be around.”

Are You Flirting With Disaster if You're Not Involved in Global Online Markets?

January 27, 2015

MultiChannel Merchant

There's a wake-up call for American digital marketers who aren't actively developing their international online markets. While there are many risks to taking your business online to other nations, the risk of not going global, or of waiting too long to make the move, almost certainly will be greater.

Overall U.S. Manufacturing Continues to Look Robust in 2015

January 26, 2015

Manufacturing.net

The recent robust manufacturing performance should continue in the near-term despite marginal declines in some indicators, according to the quarterly MAPI Foundation Business Outlook, a survey conducted by the MAPI Foundation, the research affiliate of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.

Online Grocery Delivery Is Hard Business to Make a Buck In

January 26, 2015

Washington Post

The online grocery delivery business seems to get more crowded - and more competitive - by the minute. Tech giants Google and Amazon.com are offering it in some major cities, and so are upstarts such as Instacart, Postmates and FreshDirect. These newcomers are battling with more established businesses such as Peapod, which has been delivering groceries for more than 20 years, and services from companies such as Wal-Mart that allow customers to place orders online and pick them up at a nearby store.

Chinese Multinationals on the Hunt for Talent - Especially for Supply Chain Professionals

January 26, 2015

Robert Walters

The growth of Chinese multinational corporations will intensify talent competition in 2015, according to the latest annual Global Salary Survey from professional recruitment consultancy Robert Walters. Professionals now view Chinese companies as an attractive employment option due to their promising prospects and competitive remuneration packages – which often include employee stock options.

Manufacturing Capacity Is Leaving China. But Where's It Going?

January 26, 2015

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

We've heard it before: manufacturing is leaving China and coming back to the West. But the reality isn't that simple.

Combined Procurement Helps Pharma Distributors Stay in the Black

January 23, 2015

IDB

One of the most powerful middleman industries in the global economy – pharmaceutical distributors – is emerging from more than a half-decade of difficult transition.

Is China Manipulating Its Currency?

January 23, 2015

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Is China guilty, as charged by U.S. traders, of keeping its currency artificially weak?

HighJump Issues App for In-Store Fulfillment; Partners With Unata

January 21, 2015

HighJump Software Inc.

HighJump Software Inc. has released HighJump Retail Advantage for in-store fulfillment.

China Is Africa's Biggest Trading Partner, But Not Its Largest Investor

January 21, 2015

The Economist

China has become by far Africa's biggest trading partner, exchanging about $160bn worth of goods a year; more than a million Chinese, most of them labourers and traders, have moved to the continent in the past decade. The mutual adoration between governments continues, with ever more African roads and mines built by Chinese firms. But the talk of Africa becoming Chinese - or "China’s second continent", as the title of one American book puts it - is overdone.