I apologize, I am horribly behind in my reading. However, I felt that this article was important to share as it shows some of the risks in supply chain management. Sourcing should be one of the most important factors when determining materials and supply. How many facilities, how far does the product need to travel, risk of the economy or legal environment all should be considered. Cost is not the only factor when making these important decisions.

https://www.wired.com/story/medicines-long-thin-supply-chain/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SCMNow_03092018&utm_campaign=SCM%20Now

Interesting read on the future jobs in supply chain. Also highlights the importance of supply chain in today’s economy and the increase in amount of employment opportunities in this field. Traditionally thought of just manufacturing, this article brings to light the many other options in the service industries.

https://hbr.org/2018/03/the-supply-chain-economy-and-the-future-of-good-jobs-in-america?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SCMNow_03162018&utm_campaign=SCM%20Now

Zara continues to be innovators in the retail supply chain!

Customers arriving in store to pick up online orders typically encountered long lines as associates manually retrieved their purchases.

Zara’s has set out to improve the experience by deploying robots to tackle the task of retrieving BOPIS orders and shuttling them to a drop box for customer pick-up. Customers trigger the process by scanning a code upon arrival, which prompts the bot to begin its search.

https://sourcingjournalonline.com/zara-bopis-robots/

“It is an idea as disruptive as the smart phone.”

This new technology could revolutionalize the shipping and logistics industries.

To find out more on how Rolls-Royce is trying to implement the technology, check out this article!

https://www.ship-technology.com/features/rolls-royce-teams-google-ai-driven-ship-awareness/

Supply Chain and Operations Management is not just about producing a product and getting that product to their customers. It is also about creating and developing sustainability options and programs for organizations, including the byproducts of their business. These options can not just lead to reducing the organizations global impact or carbon footprint, but can lead to significant cost savings for the organization.

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-whirlpool-uses-local-data-spin-global-cleanup-plans?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SCMNow_02092018&utm_campaign=SCM%20Now

Think Supply Chain is just for the manufacturing field? Think again. Found this article emphasizing the importance of supply chain for the restaurant industry.

http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/supply-chain-super-bowl/

Amazon is making a move to expand the amount of products that they offer on the two day shipping service without having to expand their facilities. This is a great move in response to Target and Walmart adding pressure to the market. Adding products to the Prime catalog without adding the necessary fixed costs to store the inventory and staff to fulfill the orders is a sure way to keep and gain more customers.

http://www.supplychain247.com/article/amazon_reportedly_focusing_on_expanding_delivery_trial_offering/news

I felt this was an important topic as living, working, and going to school in and near Flint, let alone in Michigan, many people are worried that the automobile factory jobs are going away. In the past, our local economy survived on this industry and many people are afraid of technology replacing those jobs. When Honda and Toyota, who are both known for their efficiency and lean processes, both state that humans are still needed for production, then everyone should take notice.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-23/robots-rejected-humans-still-build-the-best-new-car-you-can-buy?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SCMNow_02022018&utm_campaign=SCM%20Now

Now of course, technology will in turn replace some jobs, but I found this article that explains the effects of this “replacement” or “redistribution” better than I can explain myself.

http://www.apics.org/sites/apics-blog/think-supply-chain-landing-page/thinking-supply-chain/2015/12/11/the-future-of-work?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SCMNow_02022018&utm_campaign=SCM%20Now

https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2018/here-technologies-sap-supply-chains/

Target is attempting to join the fray with Amazon and Walmart and is investing in a same day delivery network. This is a great move on Target’s part by switching their delivery model from centralized delivery location, to more decentralized and local to their customers.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-13/target-to-buy-shipt-for-550-million-in-bet-on-same-day-delivery