Labor

U.S. West Coast Dockworkers Must Address Productivity Issues

Monday, April 28, 2014 · Patrick Burnson Supply chain managers have another reason to be concerned about upcoming U.S. West Coast dockside labor negotiations, say industry analysts.

For Retailers, New Dockside Labor Negotiations May Seem Painfully Familiar

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 · Patrick Burnson Last year at this time, retailers were relieved to learn that a tentative agreement on a new labor contract had been reached by dockside labor and management on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts. But not without considerable blood on the floor.

Ag Shippers Brace For Supply Chain Changes

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 · SCMR Staff A host of challenges face agricultural shippers this summer.

Offshoring Clouds Job Picture

Thursday, September 12, 2013 · Patrick Burnson Large companies in North America and Europe are now losing over 250,000 jobs each year in IT, finance, and other key business services areas.

Supply Chain Managers to Remain Prudent, Say Economists

Thursday, May 2, 2013 · Patrick Burnson Shippers may have been cheered by last month’s manufacturing report issued from the Institute for Supply Management, but other key indicators suggest caution.

Report: U.S. manufacturing costs are now equal to Mexico and will be equal to China by 2015

Monday, April 29, 2013 · SCMR Staff Four out of five executives surveyed say nearshoring will be an important decision in coming year.

Supply Chain Managers Must Continue to Deal With Modest Gains in Productivity

Monday, February 11, 2013 · Patrick Burnson In its preliminary fourth quarter “Report on Productivity and Labor Costs,” IHS Global Insight U.S. economists suggest that both hiring and productivity will move upward…but at a snail’s pace.

West Coast Port Volumes Decline in November

Monday, December 17, 2012 · Jeff Berman As has been the case in recent months, cargo activity at the nation’s two largest ports— the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB)—were mixed in November.

Opportunity to Participate in World Economic Forum/World Bank survey

Thursday, October 11, 2012 · Patrick Burnson The World Economic Forum is collaborating with the World Bank on a report that will be released at its Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2013 to a varied audience of industry leaders, politicians, trade representatives and academics.

Zepol Reports U.S. Vessel Imports are Down 3 Percent

Monday, September 17, 2012 · Patrick Burnson TEU imports dropped from July to August and are slightly down from August of 2011 by 0.3 percent

Supply Chain Insights into India

Monday, July 2, 2012 · Jayanth Jayaram and Balram Avittathur India is a highly attractive market for multinational companies. But to successfully source or sell products there, they need to realize that conditions may differ greatly from the more developed economies they are used to. This is especially true when it comes to the supply…

S&OP: What You Can Learn from the Top Performers

Monday, May 7, 2012 · Len Prokopets The benefits of effective Sales & Operations Planning are compelling — lower operating costs, reduced inventory requirements, and top-line growth. The top-performing S&OP companies are realizing these benefits and in the process gaining competitive advantage. This…

Accenture supports global business transformation program at fast retailing

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 · SCMR Staff Accenture announced that it has supported the successful delivery of an information technology transformation program at Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.

New IBM report outlines supply chain challenges for 2011 and beyond

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 · SCMR Staff A new report by IBM Global Business Services observes that the current economic environment is increasingly more volatile, complex and structurally different than in years past.

Social networking as supply chain enabler

Friday, December 3, 2010 · Patrick Burnson Would embedding features like chat, wikis and instant messaging into ERP offer significant benefits? New research suggests that it might.