Economists from the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation expect the construction supply chain to be a primary driver of manufacturing growth over the next two years.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's annual energy outlook - which was released earlier this spring - anticipated that the industrial sector's energy demand would outpace all other sectors through 2040, and a just-released EIA report projected that bulk chemicals would account for a "large portion of both consumption and anticipated growth," with the value of chemical shipments increasing from $288bn in 2013 to $429bn in 2025.

Despite organizations' best efforts to secure intellectual property and other sensitive information, limited progress has been made in effectively managing information risk in the supply chain.

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.

Imagine if an enterprise in the United States was able to access vital product line information of a subsidiary plant in India or a crank shaft supplier being able to locate its component in an automobile across the globe or a machine being to self-assemble at the end destination. Technology advancements over the last decade have paved the way for all of the above situations to be executed in repeatable fashion.

Most everyone in manufacturing is aware that today, supply chain is, more or less, "king" of the manufacturing lifecycle. With more globalized supply chains and the trend of working with more and more third parties, it's critical that manufacturers keep a strong hold on the flow of materials from one location to the next.