COVID-19 exposed what happens when supply chains are too rigid: goods can't get to where they're needed, and previously loyal customers are willing to go to a competitor to find what they need. Traditional supply-chain strategies that prioritized efficiency and razor-thin margins over agilit

One of the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 crisis was a rapid decline in production levels and manufacturing efficiency, triggering fears that the entire supply chain might collapse.Now, months after the onset of the pandemic, those fears haven't been borne out. Yet manufacturers are still str

As the health and humanitarian impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic evolve, so do the business and economic challenges. Companies need to continually strengthen their supply chain’s ability to predict and respond with agility during prolonged periods of uncertainty. That means balancing immediate

Today about a third of Americans are working from home, with many also home-schooling their children using online tools. Nearly everyone who has been on a recent video call has had the experience of a frozen video stream or interrupted internet connection.In a time of pandemic, the growing work-from

Remote work, once considered a professional perk, has become a means of ensuring business continuity. Customers are being engaged from a distance. Telemedicine has gained prominence as a way to remotely access healthcare providers.In addition, the way in which we purchase everyday goods has been rad

Each and every day we interact with new technologies that are far more advanced and complex than we could have imagined a few short years ago. With most of these changes, our experiences have become more efficient, faster and more secure. The same cannot be said for business payments. As supply

As if damage to people and supply chains by the coronavirus pandemic and economic freefall weren’t bad enough, add to it the greater difficulty of monitoring human rights violations in distant farms and factories.Despite the connectivity afforded global supply chains by modern-day electronic c

In the face of e-commerce sales growth of more than 30%, coupled with expected holiday spikes, carriers are implementing peak-capacity surges to manage delivery loads. But how are shippers and manufacturers faring with the pandemic-fueled online shopping boom? Through the use of low-code automation

It’s never a dull moment for retailers. As they begin to land on their feet and steady themselves from COVID-19-related shutdowns and downturns, the holiday season is quickly approaching — and with it, many uncertainties tied to the future of their businesses.According to data from real

With companies relying increasingly on complex global supply chains, their need for verifiable manufacturing ethics and supplier transparency is growing.Trickle-down policies and one-to-one accountability aren’t enough to achieve widespread ethical compliance. Technologies, including the imple

Suppliers play a key role in procurement, and their costs have a big influence on companies’ wellbeing. To start cutting expenses with existing suppliers, businesses should focus on bettering their relationships.Survey Suppliers Your suppliers can be a great source of information to under

Supply-chain executives in North America have a lot on their plates these days, to say the least. Trade tensions are pushing businesses to shift supply chains quickly, as well as respond to the never-ending push for productivity improvements — all while political, environmental and economic un

The single greatest risk from supply chains is getting caught off guard.In 2007, Mattel Inc., owner of such popular toy lines as Barbie, American Girl, and Fisher Price, was forced to recall millions of the toys it had outsourced to a producer in China. Despite requiring its supplier companies to un

The logistics industry as a whole is slow to embrace digital change, yet container shipping has been especially reluctant to dispense with analog methods. Complex decisions on empty-container moves continue to be handled manually within spreadsheets, based on human intuition.Now, however, with total

The United States Agency for International Development recently awarded $15 million for creation of a research and training center for supply-chain management in Ghana. But the move might signal a broader effort by the U.S. to counter the growing economic influence of China, and to a lesser extent R

Oil companies took the crashes of 2008 and 2014-16 on the chin, but ultimately recovered. So, it’s hardly surprising they reached for the same playbook — slashing operating costs and capital investments, scaling back operations and acquiring smaller operators — to respond to this y

Drawing on annual reports of S&P 500 companies, mentions of “supply chain” have grown nearly 30% in the past five years.Companies have realized how complex their supply chains have become, and the challenges associated with this complexity. In response, here are some key trends that

The purpose of equipment maintenance in manufacturing is simple: to minimize costly breakdowns, and ensure that machinery operates at its top functionality. Yet there’s still a faction of the production world that views maintenance as an unnecessary consumption of manufacturing hours.Figuring

As pandemic-hit international supply chains look to get back on their feet, executives face tough choices. Do they move production closer to markets and abandon cherished ‘just-in-time’ production methods? Do they take on additional stock?There’s plenty for supply chain managers to

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented disruption to drug development.While sponsors rushed to reallocate resources to develop treatments and vaccines, many faced challenges associated with travel restrictions, site closures, self-isolation protocols, emerging regulatory guidance,