Critical Issues Manufacturing/Supply Chain

The Retail climate is proving increasingly challenging for bricks-and-mortar stores of all sizes, with many major brands and familiar high-street names announcing profit warnings, job cuts and even store closures.

By Huw Owen, Head of EMEA & APJ at Couchbase.

Mobile has revolutionised the way consumers interact with retailers – today’s shoppers expect a seamless omni-channel experience across all platforms, with mobile becoming a significant piece of the puzzle. In 2017, mobile commerce made up 59% of all online spending and by 2021, it is expected to account for a staggering three-quarters of ecommerce.

New research by InfinityQS, the global authority on data-driven enterprise quality, has revealed that only nine per cent of manufacturers are planning to invest in digital transformation projects over the next 12-18 months.

More than half of global wholesalers have witnessed manufacturers sell directly to end customers driving the disintermediation of the traditional supply chain model and increasing competitiveness between traditional partners, according to new research.

In a retail landscape that is changing daily, you have to be prepared for constant evolution. Stand still for too long try to assess how to take the next step forward and you may in fact find yourselves two steps backwards, or worse - a Datalogic white paper.

The October 2018 edition of Manufacturing & Logistics IT features a Special Technology Report on Printing & Labelling.

For this report, we spoke with a number of leading spokespeople from the vendor and analyst communities about recent, current and possible future developments within the world of printing & labelling technology.

B2B customers are more demanding than ever. With targeted content on the rise, people expect relevant, accurate information to be made available at a moment’s notice. As a result, B2B companies are figuring out innovative ways to streamline their platforms. But where should you start?

Following Manhattan Associates’ Manhattan Exchange 2018 event in Amsterdam last week, Manufacturing & Logistics IT spoke with the company’s Senior Director – Product Management, Adam Kline, about the changing supply chain landscape and how state-of-the-art software, mobile devices, automation and robotics solutions can leverage major benefits for today’s warehouses and distribution centres.

A survey of over 550 professionals in the UK by CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global technology industry, has revealed that despite the chronic IT skills gap, only 4 in 10 firms have a strategy in place to address the challenge and more than half (55%) struggle to even fully identify skills gaps among their workforce.

Businesses going bust, job losses and rocketing Christmas prices for consumers.