APICS e-News

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, delivery firms added 4,200 new jobs in June, continuing a three-month growth streak. As a result, overall employment in the U.S. delivery sector has reached 666,500 jobs, the highest point since the December 2016 holiday season. Although e-commerce only accounted for 8.5 percent of U.S. retail sales during the first quarter of 2017, online sales are growing faster than overall consumer spending, The Wall Street Journal reports.......Read More

Walmart is cracking down on supply chain inefficiencies in an effort to cut costs and better compete with Amazon. The low-price retail giant is rolling out an “On-Time, In-Full” program that aims to add $1 billion in revenue by improving in-store product availability, Bloomberg reports. ......Read More

The German government is investigating Siemens, one of the country’s largest corporations, after gas turbines intended for a Russian power plant ended up in Russian-occupied Crimea. This diversion could possibly violate European Union sanctions tied to Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula, according to The Wall Street Journal.......Read More

Takata is recalling an additional 2.7 million airbag inflators in the United States after the company determined that they could explode during a crash despite the use of a chemical additive that is intended to ensure airbag safety. Although the previous recalls focused on inflators without desiccants, this new recall covers inflators that use calcium sulfate as a drying agent to keep the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators from becoming unstable and catching fire after a crash, according to Bloomberg.......Read More

A new ransomware attack interrupted operations at several companies across the United States, Europe and parts of Asia last week. A.P. Moller-Maersk, Saint-Gobain, Merck, Mondelez International and Russian oil company Rosneft all reported being affected by the virus, according to The Wall Street Journal. ......Read More

Amazon’s latest venture is taking aim at department stores and other fashion retailers. The e-commerce giant rolled out a trial service that allows its Prime customers to try on clothing items before they buy them, the Chicago Tribune reports.......Read More

While Qatar still is politically isolated from the rest of the Middle East, Saudi companies are contracting with Turkish logistics firms to deliver cargo to Qatar in an effort to uphold existing business agreements in the region. As a result, many Turkish logistics companies are operating at full capacity under the increased demand, The Wall Street Journal reports. ......Read More

Takata is planning to file for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the United JD.com is partnering with Mitsubishi Chemical to start a vegetable factory in Beijing. The Chinese e-commerce giant decided to take control of its own vegetable supply chain after successful online sales of vegetables grown by Mitsubishi Chemical in Shanghai, according to Nikkei Asian Review.......Read More

Deutsche Post DHL Group signed a deal with Ford to make the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker a components supplier for the German logistics group’s electric minivan, according to Reuters.......Read More

Takata is planning to file for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the United States to address billions of dollars in recall liabilities as it prepares to sell its business to rival Key Safety Systems. The Japan-based parts supplier hopes to have the filings completed prior to its annual shareholder meeting on June 27, The New York Times reports.......Read More

In the wake of political turmoil that has cut off Qatar from the rest of the Middle East, including blocking its only land border, transportation companies are looking for new air and sea routes to keep people and products moving, according to The Wall Street Journal. ......Read More

Amazon is aiming to fill the grocery gap in its business with the acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant announced on Friday that it would purchase the natural foods retailer for $13.7 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports.......Read More

Japanese shipping companies "K" Line, MOL and NYK Line announced a new joint venture under the name Ocean Network Express (ONE). The newly named shipping liner company, which is scheduled to begin operations in April 2018, merges the container-shipping divisions of the three major carriers, according to JOC.......Read More

Wal-Mart Stores is testing a new delivery model that uses store personnel as delivery drivers for orders placed through Walmart.com and Jet.com. As the largest private employer in the United States, the discount retail giant is attempting to leverage its brick-and-mortar stores staff to compete with Amazon on fast, convenient last-mile delivery, The Wall Street Journal reports.......Read More

At the end of May, BMW extended production slowdowns from some of its German production sites to locations in China and South Africa. A shortage of steering parts from Robert Bosch is affecting production of several of the German automaker’s compact and midsize models, according to Bloomberg.......Read More

The Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (TMMA) of India reports that exports of textile machinery have steadily increased in the past five years. From 2012 to 2015, exports of spinning and processing machines increased nearly 62 percent to 2,466 crore rupees (nearly $383 million), and private numbers highlight even more growth between 2015 and 2016, The Hindu reports.......Read More

Although Amazon has been selling furniture through its website, the e-commerce giant is investing more resources into growing its business in the segment, The Wall Street Journal reports. ......Read More

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced a recall of 1.2 million Ram pickup trucks on Friday to address a serious software issue. The faulty software has been found to disable airbags and seatbelt tension devices, The New York Times reports. ......Read More

China’s C919 passenger jet completed its maiden flight on Friday after taking off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The five-person crew traveled aboard the country’s first domestically designed and built large airliner for one hour and 19 minutes, according to CNN Money. ......Read More

A ransomware cyberattack quickly spread around the world last weekend and affected businesses, hospitals and government agencies in more than 150 countries by Monday morning. Cybersecurity experts still are hunting for the perpetrator and assessing the damage, but so far Chinese officials are estimating that approximately 1 million individual terminals have been hit worldwide, The Wall Street Journal reports.......Read More