Critical Issues Manufacturing/Supply Chain

Some creative Government accountancy may have found Flybe calmer skies; but its narrow escape highlights the precarious state of UK aviation, says the international courier expert ParcelHero. It is warning that with Heathrow's expansion plan seemingly in an eternal holding pattern, UK PLC is missing out on up to £14 billion a year in lost trade.

Sana Commerce has expanded its ERP suite to become one of the first e-commerce software vendors to support SAP Business One Cloud integration. It has made two versions available to its customers: one hosted directly by SAP, and one hosted by a third-party or hosting partner.

Thanks to rapid advances in communication and information technology, manufacturers are now able to operate at a truly global level, sourcing materials where it is most convenient and expanding their international client base.  However, manufacturers also need to adapt their offer to local trends, predicting which items are going to be more in demand in a particular area and adjusting their stock accordingly.

As automation technology continues to mature, it is becoming increasingly a point of competitive advantage, with consumers responding positively to the improved convenience that it can deliver. However, in order to capitalize on this trend, retailers will need to prioritize automation that creates positive consumer experiences rather than as a cost saving exercise, according to new research from the Capgemini Research Institute.

UK business leaders are struggling to cope with the pressures of a rapidly changing world. Increased competition, political uncertainty and facing greater scrutiny are all making it much tougher at the top - according to new research.

By Tom Stevenson, UK Director, Forter.

“The 2nd of January 2020 marked National Returns Day, the busiest day of the year for holiday returns. In fact, UPS stated that it expected to ship 1.9 million returns, a 26% increase over last year.

Showpad research has revealed that sales staff in manufacturing are being left dangerously exposed when selling complex or high-value products and services, with 17% of organisations failing to carry out any kind of training or coaching.

Manufacturing & Logistics IT spoke to a number of experts from the vendor and analyst communities about current and possible future trends and areas of development within the world of Digital Transformation – including those concerning Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, Robotics, Cloud and Edge Computing.

After a stable 2019, GfK experts expect for the global market for technical consumer goods a value growth of +2.5 percent in 2020. Telecoms, Small Domestic Appliances and Major Domestic Appliances will drive the growth.

The system from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS regularly or permanently records drive and status data in order to optimise the operational safety and efficiency of machines and plants. Based on this information, concepts for predictive maintenance can also be developed.