APICS e-News

Increasing sales and a proliferation of car models is stretching the auto parts supply chain to near a breaking point.

Some large consumer products companies are turning to a strategy that involves delaying payments to commodity suppliers by up to six months. Advertising agencies also are getting caught up in the delays.

Samsung Electronics has overtaken Apple as the world's largest smartphone maker. Stretched thin by its efforts, the company now is courting some of Apple's parts suppliers.

Disruptions of smartphone supplies may be becoming the norm, as surging demand means manufacturers are straining to increase output despite increasingly sophisticated components.

For a long time, Swatch has sold internal watch parts to other companies as part of a government-permitted monopoly. Now they are petitioning Switzerland's Competition Commission for permission to reduce this number.

The fallout from a fungal meningitis outbreak last year includes lawsuits and calls for greater oversight of compounding pharmacies, where drugs are mixed and combined to meet the needs of individuals with existing prescriptions.

The RF (radio frequency) technology in modern devices such as smartphones is increasing, which is boosting manufacturers and the supply chains for these components.

A contest has been won that may help remove one of the major barriers to entry in 3D printing, the high cost of plastic filament used in production.

Adulterated or ineffective drugs are threats to people around the world, and developing countries are particularly at risk. However, developed countries are also at elevated risk.

Each bottle of alcohol in the Indian state of Delhi will be uniquely identifiable by a bar code, enabling consumer verification that the bottle is legitimate and increasing government revenues.

According to recent surveys, manufacturing is contracting and export demand is slowing, thanks in part to the euro zone crisis, weak business investments, and sluggish government and consumer spending.

The staff at APICS e-News is dedicated to bringing you the latest and most relevant industry news, insights, and developments in supply chain and operations management. We look forward to bringing you more of the stories that matter to you in your careers in 2013.

As Toys “R” Us faces increasingly steep competition from online entities such as Amazon, it feels pressure to improve delivery speeds and reduce prices. It is creating online fulfillment centers out of its stores, whereby toys are pulled directly from shelves and sent to customers.

Last week's Bangladeshi factory fire reveals a complex, ever-changing supply chain characterized by particularly low labor costs, high flexibility, delegated authority—and considerable risks.

Surprisingly, small businesses are the easiest targets for cyber-criminals. If they don't pay attention to online security, they will face either direct losses attack or risk getting dropped by partners who view them as liabilities.

Recovery in the US job market is not just happening in lower-wage areas, but in higher-paying sectors such as factories, health care, and professional and technical services.

Last Wednesday, October 10th, Toyota announced that 7.43 million cars, trucks, and sports utility vehicles would be recalled to correct a faulty power window switch that can start fires, the Associated Press reports. This is the largest recall in Toyota's 75-year history. More than a dozen models produced from 2005 to 2010 are affected, including the top-selling Camry. The recall serves to undermine the automaker’s efforts to come back from recent natural disasters and other safety problems, including the seven million vehicles recalled about two years ago for problems with unintended acceleration.

According to a survey, most high-tech manufacturers in the United States expect to increase exports of consumer electronics thanks to a growing middle class in developing nations, free-trade pacts among nations, and rising labor costs overseas.

Kyohokai, an association of top suppliers to Toyota, faces scrutiny from regulatory authorities because of potentially collusive behavior. The group will reveal more of its inner workings to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

The three largest automakers in North America will soon be operating at greater than 100 percent capacity utilization, a sign of a major turnaround for the domestic car industry.