Critical Issues RSS Critical Issues articles (page 1)

By Andrew Southgate, managing director, Zetes.

It is an interesting, albeit challenging time to be working in retail logistics. Together with difficult trading conditions, the proliferation of mobile devices - smartphones, tablets and the ubiquity of wireless technology - is forcing a shift in the way consumers expect to interact with brands and buy goods.

In everyday life, technology users are getting a better experience with streamlined content delivery. Information is all on one screen and doesn't require constant refreshing to stay up to date.

The seventh national survey of UK businesses from QBE, the business insurance specialist, shows 68% of manufacturers expect a two year wait or more before there is a full economic recovery. The negative mood is matched by 56% of the industry's businesses being worried that trading will be difficult if the conditions persist for another 12 months.

By Andrew Hayward, Managing Director of m-hance. When I talk to our customers about the need to manage their stakeholders, whoever they may be, many still believe that a traditional vertical point specific solution best fits their needs. I think that as a result many organisations are missing a trick - and potential revenues.

Columbus has gathered the experiences and best advice of manufacturing customers and experts in 4 topical guides. In this one, we discuss how to achieve operational efficiency in four easily implementable steps

Manufacturing complexity has increased in the last five years, and is expected to continue to rise over the next three years, according to a global survey of 378 manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, high-tech electronics, and industrial equipment industries, undertaken by IDC Manufacturing Insights and sponsored by Infor.

Senior management teams are failing to inspire confidence in their organisation's managers, according to new UK research. The problem is particularly acute among the manufacturing and industrial sectors which policy makers are hoping will lead the UK economy out of its current difficulties.

While rising petrol prices caused by tensions in the Middle East and a weak pound are bad news for businesses in the UK, there are strategies which UK businesses can adopt to make themselves more efficient and actually lower costs in the medium to long-term.

Poor decision-making environments are being cited as a critical barrier to growth by manufacturers across the globe, according to a survey of 378 manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, high-tech electronics, and industrial equipment industries, undertaken by IDC Manufacturing Insights and sponsored by Infor.

Karsten Horn, director international sales of the Inventory and Supply Chain Division at Inform, discusses why crowd sourcing will shake up business processes in 2012. He also explains why the supply chain must be prepared to become more 'social' with its operations, in order to drive competitive advantage and thrive in the long-term.