News

Supply chain management is not the only function that is grappling with the problems of matching supply and demand in a highly uncertain business environment. HR faces similar challenges. But with HR, the mandate is to deliver people--not products-to the right place, at the right time, at the right quality, and in the right quantity. In fact, the "personnel supply chain" obeys many of the principles that govern its goods-carrying counterpart.

As carmakers and lawmakers draw up plans for combating distracted driving, new research from MIT shows that drivers can lose focus even with their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. Furthermore, the level of distraction that drivers encounter can best be measured in shades of gray rather than black and white.

Paul Hunter takes us for a ride into the future. He looks at technology that could save drivers from themselves, but there is a downside.

View the full news segment here.

There is much debate in supply chain management circles about how the profession can meet the demand for talent. The SCM community is putting a lot of effort into finding and developing career minded individuals, but it also has to rely on human resources departments to create effective employment programs. Are these HR practitioners up to the task?

Read the full article here.

Edgar Blanco, a research director at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, says that although companies may find the collaboration process challenging, it is essential: “If you’re going to focus your strategy on carbon reduction or environmental impact or social impact, you need to engage your suppliers. Without them, you cannot succeed.”

Read the full article here.

While Mexico and Canada remain our primary international trade opportunity, LM’s analyst panel tell us that bolder players will be exploring more distant markets once the Panama Canal expansion is complete. 

New study suggests that electric-powered trucks will save money for businesses.

A company looking to purchase an electric-powered delivery truck today will likely experience some sticker shock: Such a vehicle costs nearly $150,000, compared to about $50,000 for the same kind of truck with a standard internal-combustion engine.

What was intended as a way to reduce traffic congestion on the highways through short-sea shipping along the East Coast more than 50 years ago has ended up playing a key role in making offshore manufacturing in low-cost locations across the globe economically viable. The innovative use of large metal containers to ship goods eventually led to the development of an intermodal transportation system that today is the unsung hero of global trade.

SupplyChainBrain caught up with Dr. Edgar Blanco at the 2011 Annual Conference of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, in Philadelphia.

Read the full interview here.

Companies commonly use outsourcing as a means to lower costs or cover an area of supply chain expertise they currently lack. These relationships also bring opportunities to collaborate on ways to improve operational efficiency. A type of outsourcing that offers these benefits and takes collaborative relationships to a higher level finds an individual or team of professionals from the vendor embedded in the client company’s organization.

We've been talking all morning about the alleged terror plot which was reportedly being planned by a 26-year-old Ashland, MA man. According to the FBI, Rezwan Ferdaus wanted to take remote control planes, loaded with explosives and fly them into the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. 

Jim Rice, from the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, stopped by Fox 25's Beacon Hill studio to talk about it.

View the interview here.

UPS chairman and CEO Scott Davis explores free trade, the U.S. economy — and the truth behind those whiteboard ads.

While many Americans see today’s increasingly competitive global economy as contributing to the nation’s economic woes, UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis argued in a Tuesday talk at MIT that free trade ultimately benefits the U.S. economy and employment.

Is it possible to create a fuel surcharge program that is consistently fair to shippers and carriers? As we have seen over recent months, the cost of motor vehicle fuel is a national preoccupation. Perhaps this is one reason why rising prices at the pump, and mechanisms such as fuel surcharges that are designed to spread the pain between shippers and service providers equably, attract so much attention.

Hari Sreenivasan talks with Dr. Joseph F Coughlin, Director of the MIT AgeLab and the New England University Transportation Center about the car of the future. Coughlin says automobile technology will reflect a baby boomer generation that will live longer, are more technology savvy, and will demand to stay on the road longer than previous generations.

View the news segment here.

Robert Harris is so proud of the local products he uses in his catering that he adorned tables at a recent event with a map showing where the dinner ingredients were grown or made. It’s a great tool to demonstrate to our clients the care that we take in sourcing,’’ said Harris, chef and owner of Season to Taste Catering and The Table, a 10-seat restaurant, both in Cambridge. 

The CEO of the Panama Canal, Administrator/CEO Alberto Aleman Zubieta, announced today that the Panama Canal Authority will host its first-ever best practices Engineering and Infrastructure Congress.

It is a fair assumption that most supply chain professionals reading SCMR can quickly recount a harrowing tale, probably set at the end of the quarter, involving a key shipment that is about to miss its delivery deadline. Being at the core of the action in today's globalized businesses, the supply chain is full of exciting stories about how someone moved mountains to save the day... or not. Dr. Jarrod Goentzel from MIT shares more insights into using the power of narrative as an effective means of communicating critical messages across your organization.

When retailers, reps and sales managers gather next month at the Salt Palace for Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, talk will turn to products — how to market them, how to merchandise them, when to bring in back-up orders. No less important, however, will be the discussions among product designers, brand managers, suppliers and a small army of compliance auditors, contractors and consultants that manage the industry’s far-flung supply chain and will be focused on the questions of where, when and how to make product and maintain margins.

The Hartford launches Home for a Lifetime to encourage boomers to create living spaces that improve quality of life now and enable them to stay in their current homes as they age

One of the biggest issues boomers will confront in the years to come is planning for their future housing needs. According to a survey from The Hartford and the MIT AgeLab, 50 percent of boomers want to stay in their current home as they age, but most have no plans in place.

Yesterday, the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics held Crossroads 2011. The title of this year’s event reveals a lot: “Disruptive Innovations That Will Shape the Future of Supply Chains.” During the conference, leading MIT faculty examined what we can expect from supply chains in 10 or 20 years and the technologies and trends evolving today that will characterize tomorrow’s supply chains.

Read the full article here.

As the effects of the Sendai earthquake and tsunami ripple through the global economy, companies should shore up their supply chains to guard against disaster.

Read the full article here.

UPDATE June 16, 2011: We are pleased to announce our keynote speaker, Alberto Alemán Zubieta, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority. Mr Zubieta will be speaking on the topic of the future of the Panama Canal and its impact on supply chain.

Leading academics from top institutions as well as global industry executives convene for inaugural event.

Professor Yossi Sheffi has been selected to receive the Salzberg Lifetime Award from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. The Salzberg Medallion has come to be recognized as one of the most prestigious awards in the field of transportation and supply chain management. In a letter to Sheffi on behalf of the Whitman School, Dr.

US and European companies have generally suffered only minor and short-lived disruption as a result of the March 11 earthquake in Japan, executives and analysts have said, showing the resilience of global supply chains. The catastrophe led to severe problems for many Japanese companies such as