CEO confidence about the global economy is on the upswing, but the corporate bosses are also concerned about growth potential, attracting talent, and dealing with international regulations, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global CEO Survey. These track closely with the biggest concerns of today's supply chain professionals. The annual report, released at the recent World…
We've written a lot about the quickening pace of innovation in automotive electronics design. And you'll recall the centerpiece of the first part of the Drive for Innovation was an all-electric Chevy Volt, which took us around North America. If you're in automotive electronics design, you're no doubt working on a very important and very…
If you've followed us for the past couple of years on Drive for Innovation, this infographic should come as no surprise. A lot of what we've covered, the interviews we've done, and the insights we've heard from the road tell us how to build a culture from innovation. But I have to say that this…
As OEMs create close ties across the supply chain, IT security becomes a critical business consideration. “The supply chain is becoming more and more a top of mind focus in terms of security,” said Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum (ISF). “One of the most challenging aspects is that, irrespective of…
The world is changing, and the electronics supply chain must evolve along with it. High-tech globalization, increased competition, and the ever-increasing influence of end customers all require electronics firms to think in new ways about innovating and getting products into customers' hands customers quicker. The fourth annual UPS Change in the (Supply) Chain survey, which…
In recent months and even years, optimism was a word that was rarely heard in manufacturing. Now, however, small but steady gains are making small and midsized manufacturers approach the future with some hopefulness, a recent survey found. “We poll our members twice a year, at the beginning and the midpoint of the year, to…
An Amsterdam startup designed and crowdsourced a new Android smartphone. The Fairphone is created on the principle that manufacturing must be done with minimal harm to the planet. Human beings are natural collectors of stuff. In fact, society seems to be driven by consumerism. Most people buy, use, and discard electronic products with little thought…
Surveys sometimes surprise me. A recent one from Motorola Solutions Inc., for instance, got me thinking about what lies ahead in a part of the supply chain that often isn't considered sexy, but is important from a cost and inventory management standpoint. Motorola Solutions' Future of Warehousing Survey indicates that mounting market and corporate pressures,…
Microsoft purchased Nokia's mobile phone business for 5.5 billion euros (US $7.2 billion), ending a chapter of uncertainty and expectation in Nokia's 148 years of uninterrupted trajectory of innovation, reinvention, and change. Strong supply chain history A quick look through Nokia's history since 1865 shows 148 years of innovation and change. As the company closes…
Visibility. It's what all companies managing a complex supply chain want from their suppliers. The problem is that most companies only have a limited view of what they want, and the limit seems to be drawn at their first-tier suppliers. Logic follows, then, if companies can't see further back into what their supplier's suppliers are…