It used to be that if you looked in any American pantry, you saw some quintessential items, such as Kellogg’s cereal, Campbell’s soup and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Now, if you open that door, you likely will see healthier, more natural alternatives and less-expensive store brands. Last week, The Wall Street Journal laid out the challenges being faced by big food brands in “So Long, Hamburger Helper: America’s Venerable Food Brands are Struggling.”

APICS keynote Derrek Kayongo shares how results-driven partnerships and supply chain strategy repurpose soap into lifesaving global health initiatives.

In today’s increasingly connected world, it almost seems that international trade could not be easier. Companies around the globe can conduct business via the internet, and transportation and logistics professionals ensure that products reach customers in an efficient and timely manner. However, some experts are saying that the modern market actually is not trending toward globalization but instead toward localization.

Since Amazon announced its intention to buy Whole Foods Market on June 16, news outlets have been exploring all the ways this combination of companies will influence online retailing and grocery strategies. This week, Bloomberg highlighted how Amazon may transform Whole Foods warehouses with its robots.

Meet the challenge to rise from supply chain manager to supply chain leader.

Supply chain professionals know how to calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO), but now other leaders and decision makers are starting to pay closer attention. This week, Huffington Post featured “Manufacturers are Taking Aim at ‘Total Cost’ With On-Demand Manufacturing,” by Vicki Holt, president and CEO of Pronto Labs.

Participating in a professional group brings many benefits you can’t get anywhere else.

When reading all the latest business journals and even Supply Chain Management Now, you likely have heard about the wonders of artificial intelligence (AI). Like an infomercial, experts quoted in articles tout the cutting-edge solutions and business-transforming properties of AI. However, in a June 7 article in Harvard Business Review, Nick Harrison and Deborah O’Neill warn against adopting AI if you haven’t yet mastered analytics.

In today’s competitive tech world, the fight is not only for customers but for parts as well. Last week, The Wall Street Journal outlined how Nintendo is competing with companies that make mobile phones, computer servers and other tech products to get the components it needs for its new Switch gaming machine.

Integrated business planning (IBP) extends S&OP principles to deliver a seamless management process.

Become a published author to build your personal brand and advance the supply chain community.

When the economy is tight, business leaders seek to cut costs. However, taking a more holistic approach to business-to-business (B2B) supplier relationships could add value and save more money in the end. Recently, Gallup explored the top three characteristics of successful B2B supplier relationships.

In this fast-paced, technologically advanced world, there’s no such thing as excessive innovation — right? In the May/June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review, Martin Mocker and Jeanne W. Ross suggest that too much innovation creates too many product lines, systems and complexities. This combination leads to diminished revenues and higher expenses.

Responsible water stewardship improves your brand. The CEO Water Mandate can provide guidance.

Innovations such as drone delivery and automated trucks can drastically change the transportation landscape if they can overcome potential risks.

What does the digital factory of the future look like? GE is working to build one version of it today by investing in digital technology to transform its factories, generate new revenue and increase profits, Reuters’ Alwyn Scott reports. GE has spent $4 billion developing digital products, which range from tiny sensors in jet engines to augmented reality and software that can process large volumes of data.

In the Northern Hemisphere, summer is almost a month away, and some true believers out there espouse the upcoming season as the perfect time for gin and tonics—that refreshing, botanical and slightly fizzy cocktail. Right now in Canada, those cocktails or anything made with Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin have the potential for an extra kick no matter what the season. Provincial authorities have issued a recall for bottles that could contain 77 percent alcohol instead of the usual 40 percent

This week we celebrate Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day honors the influential role mothers play in our lives and our society. For me, the holiday also serves as an opportunity to reflect on the influence of my two daughters, Lily and Abby, have had on me. They sparked the creation of the Supply Chain STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program and changed my world.

Most of my blogging is focused on how to market the success of your supply chain organization. However, sometimes you reach a point in your career when you need to focus on making yourself more marketable in order to achieve your career goals. Enter APICS Career Coach Rodney Apple, to help you take control of your career and map out a plan.

Last week, The Telegraph highlighted examples of supply chain strategies for small businesses that are ready to grow. “Suppliers can make or break a smaller business, especially when it’s scaling up,” Lucy Douglas writes. “Securing sufficient product or service to support expansion is a minimum requirement for growth.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is working to revolutionize the way cars are manufactured.

This week, we celebrate APICS’s third year as a cosponsor of the STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead Awards, which recognize women in manufacturing who exemplify leadership within their companies. Last night, during an inspiring reception and gala, 100 honorees and 30 emerging leaders were recognized as the best-of-the-best women in manufacturing. Supply chain was well represented in those ranks, with 12 ASCM Members among those acknowledged.

Companies within the service industry are changing the concept of ownership and the ways consumers access goods and services — from movies and TV shows to places to stay and means of transportation. Now this trend is making its way into the manufacturing industry to connect small businesses in need of prototypes and products to manufacturers with idle machines.

Supply chain is at the core of many groundbreaking sustainability efforts

Anywhere you look, automation is taking the place of workers—from grocery stores and the bank to factory floors. Autonomous vehicles might appear to be on the cusp of taking truck drivers off the road, but researchers at the Brookings Institution contend that statistics do not support that reasoning, according to their March 21 article “Automated Trucking’s Rapid Rise Overlooks the Need for Skilled Labor.”