As a massive horde of soccer fans gather in stadiums across Russia for the World Cup to cheer on their favorite team, one thing is for certain: they’ll be armed with plenty of money to spend. Is your supply chain prepared to serve them?
From global manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson Inc to small tech startups, companies are scrambling to rework supply chains built for an era of stable, open trade policy that is now under threat.
Since its inception, the internet has been a souped-up, digital version of the global logistics system. It has seamlessly connected parties across the world, allowing them to transport information in the form of data to anyone, anywhere — only without the trucks, boats or planes required of traditional logistics. In its early days, the internet even earned itself the name “information superhighway” as a fitting tribute to the industry.
The Trump administration is proposing to restructure the U.S. Postal Service with an eye to taking it private, a step it said would cut costs and give the financially burdened agency greater flexibility in adjusting to the digital age.
Challenge: A major international automotive manufacturer was experiencing a high rate of supply chain damage. The component racks which held car parts during transit had passed impact and vibration testing, but shipments were still arriving damaged. With no way to tell what was causing the damage, the automotive company had to get creative.
U.S. factory production fell in May by the most since January 2014, weighed down by fewer truck assemblies and still consistent with a steady outlook for manufacturing, new Federal Reserve data shows.
Challenge: Trading partners need to trust that inventory will arrive when scheduled — particularly during item promotions. Historically, location and arrival time was obtained via driver phone calls. But these projected arrival times didn’t consider traffic and weather conditions, and they were often too optimistic.
International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) President Santiago Garcia Milà is calling for closer cooperation between various port-related organizations.
When HP’s CEO Dion Weisler talks about the importance of diversity inclusion, he really means it. The legendary company, famous for printers and PCs, has told its vendors that it expects them to “step up” to make gender and racial diversity a priority at their companies — or else — HP (HPQ) won’t do business with them.
On the Model 3 body line on a Tuesday afternoon in early June, everything is still. Tesla Inc. is just coming off a week of downtime during which workers added a new production line, improved ventilation after a fire in the paint shop, and overhauled machines across the factory. But even after the changes, there are kinks to work out.
