The evolution and convergence of sensors, cloud services, big data and machine learning are enabling predictive maintenance — which helps determine when maintenance is needed — through the use of digital twins.

Danish toymaker Lego is working to participate in this sustainability trend, but its challenges are much larger than those of other brands. It’s not just the company’s packaging that needs to change, but the material in its iconic toy blocks.

Although the U.S. military is known for being rigid, rank-oriented and historically bound, the branches frequently produce incredible innovation. Corporate America often struggles with innovation output. Companies can adopt a few tactics from military history to retarget their strategies.

As a result of the tariff war between the United States and China, companies are looking to source manufactured goods from other Asian countries.

As a supply chain management professional, you need to understand the difference between single-echelon inventory optimization and MEIO in order to determine which is best for your company.

The high-tech comforts many of us enjoy today are made possible by cobalt, a metal commonly used in smartphones, computers, laptops, tablets and electric vehicles. The artisanal miners who extract and prepare the cobalt — many of whom are children — are among the poorest workers in the world.

Governments, private investors and experts are noting that the agricultural trade industry is ripe for improvement with blockchain technology.

Two years ago, I was tasked with rewriting more than 150 supply chain job descriptions that had been sitting in four dusty binders in a back office. Here's what I learned.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to significantly improve supply chain planning, customer order management and inventory tracking. That makes some human supply chain professionals nervous. But, an article in Harvard Business Review reassures us that these experts will not become obsolete.

Without a well-groomed inventory system, your e-commerce business will never reach its potential. Following are some common e-commerce errors. By establishing what the worst practices are, you can ensure that your business only does the best.

In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire offered an opportunity to rebuild and plan a city that was safer and more efficient than before. Chicago — APICS’s hometown — was reborn and subsequently experienced a building and population boom as the area was cleared and recreated.

Earlier this year, Fortune reported that the number of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies dropped from 32 — an all-time high — in 2017 to 24 in 2018. That’s a 25 percent decrease over the course of only one year. However, something important happened this week.

I found my calling in supply chain. Here are four lessons learned while embarking on this career.

British aerospace giants Airbus and Rolls-Royce are preparing for Britain’s departure from the EU – also known as Brexit. Reuters reports that as much as the big companies prepare, their business may suffer consequences resulting from their smaller supply chain partners.

The innovative solutions of today will become the industry standards of tomorrow, and supply chain professionals must learn how to properly implement new tools that improve efficiency, scalability and customer value.

As plastic products cause ecological problems, packaging companies need to rethink their materials choices and opt for more eco-friendly bioplastics.

In “Apollo 13,” NASA ground engineers create a replica of a system of parts currently in outer space to save the astronauts from carbon dioxide poisoning. Though there was nothing particularly digital about this endeavor, it was a clear precursor to current digital twin technology.

A week ago, another round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports took effect. These taxes have been specifically designed not to affect consumer goods. Instead, the 25 percent import taxes on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods will affect American manufacturers either financially or by unraveling their global supply chains.

Goal setting can be a tricky and daunting task. How high should you set the bar? How will you measure your success? APICS 2018 keynote speaker and international business motivational speaker Connie Podesta says we need to take a new approach to setting goals.

As people in the United States wind down from celebrating Independence Day — often with beer and meat – people in the United Kingdom may soon face a beer and meat shortage, due to a scarcity of carbon dioxide across the U.K.

Unemployment in the United States is below 4 percent, leading manufacturers to seriously consider automation because of the lack of skilled labor for positions.

How can the supply chain function contribute to the creation of impactful product strategies and sustainable business growth? Following are three ideas that you can implement right now to positively influence product development at your company.

The future of business and the overhaul of supply chain management currently is limited by legacy technologies, but soon will be transformed by digital technology.

When customers are always right, the best way for a contract manufacturer to pursue profitable operations is with customer responsibility management. Here is how it’s done.

A recent report by McKinsey & Company details how digital solutions can help procurement specialists achieve some often-overlooked savings for tail spend.