The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is exposing how deeply modern supply chains depend on petroleum-based inputs, creating cascading disruptions across transportation, agriculture, plastics, chemicals, semiconductors, and global consumer markets.
A BBC report highlighted how Mexican call centers staffed by deported former gang members are providing outsourced services to U.S. companies while offering workers a pathway to rehabilitation, stable employment, and social reintegration.
To ensure precision and efficiency, supply chain organizations look for the right measures to track their performance. These efforts focus on identifying key performance indicators for standard supply chain functions such as planning, procurement, manufacturing, and logistics.
AI-powered drone automation is helping warehouses reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve inventory accuracy, and lower operational waste, demonstrating how inventory management can become a meaningful driver of supply chain sustainability.
College football superfans are fully invested, and their dedication elevates the sport. What if we could create that same enthusiasm, loyalty, and management commitment in the boardroom?
Benchmark supply chains are shifting from internally driven planning to a Right-to-Left model synchronized with actual consumption. The result: lower inventory, stronger service, and measurable gains in total value.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Supply chain co-location offers a powerful solution for companies seeking to remain cost-effective, quick to market, and environmentally sustainable. Research finds one model can result in a 77% reduction in freight costs and 72% reduction in inventory holding costs.
The Reshoring Institute asked 18 executives how they are responding to tariffs, with most saying they are in a holding pattern until more clarity emerges.
Despite the hardships that many small communities have endured over the past several decades as their communities have struggled due to outsourcing, the future of these municipalities is bright thanks to multi-billion-dollar investments in cutting-edge technologies and…
As organizations grapple with ongoing economic uncertainty, many supply chain planning leaders will face organizational resource constraints and competing business priorities. Here are three trends that are impacting their work.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research suggests that collecting e-commerce boxes can result in higher emissions savings, but factors such as weight and driving distance alter the calculation.
For companies looking to locate manufacturing, local prevailing wages, unemployment rate, and available workforce serve as a starting point. The Reshoring Institute’s Minimum Wage Study offers a starting guide.
Companies often buy technology solutions without understanding whether it will fix their business problem. Until that changes, excessively high rates of project failures will persist.
The pharmaceutical industry faces significantly longer lead times than other industries, and time delays can seriously impact the health outcomes of countless individuals. Recognizing the potential risks this poses, one industry giant sought to improve on-time delivery through…
So far, this year has been a continuation of 2024 with supply chains facing disruptions and challenges resulting from multiple factors beyond anyone’s control. At the beginning of 2025, APQC wrapped up its 11th annual Supply Chain Management Priorities and Challenges…
So far, 2025 has started out as a continuation of the previous year. Factors beyond organizations’ control have taken a toll on their performance on business goals. Many supply chain organizations are looking to overcome obstacles by prioritizing supplier relationships and…
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In the fast-paced world of energy-exploration technology, companies are constantly on the lookout for innovative strategies to help them stay ahead of market dynamics. For one global energy company, the key to unlocking efficiency was transforming how it predicts the demand…
The objective of any supply chain is to achieve the Perfect Order. Doing that, though, has remained elusive. Most companies are proficient at various points in the process, but few have achieved success at each level. The Perfect Order series lays out the path to that success.
New research findings reveal AI and automation are becoming the backbone of omnichannel supply chains as companies move from capability building to real-time, profitable execution.
Tech leaders must move beyond ethics debates and embrace accountability, making decisions that balance business responsibility, national interests, and supply chain realities.
The rules of supply chain network design (SCND) have fundamentally shifted. In an era where volatility is the only constant, a supply chain modeled solely for stability is no…
Supply chains are expanding the use of AI across functions, and that expansion means more data storage and more computation, which all require more electricity use and…
As tariffs, volatility, and compressed launch cycles expose the limits of Tier 1 oversight, procurement leaders are leveraging AI-driven Tier 2 visibility to cut upstream costs,…
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