The US Department of Labor reports that 100,000 Uyghurs and other ethnic minority ex-detainees in China may be working in conditions of forced labor following detention in re-education camps. It is commonly believed that Europe leads the US in environmental, social, and governance legislation and enforcement. However, no nation’s enforcement of any ESG issue comes […]
Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology won the Financial Time’s business book of the year award. Economic historian Chris Miller, a professor at Tufts, recounts the story of the ongoing battle for semiconductor supremacy. It also provides a good explanation for why the semiconductor supply chain is the world’s most vulnerable […]
Global hi-tech companies are struggling with the impact of the coronavirus. While the mortality rate at 2 percent does not sound like it should shut down global supply chains, 25 percent of those infected end up in intensive care. The high-tech industry is impacted particularly hard because so much of their contract manufacturing resides in China and they run JIT supply chains.
Despite apparent recent progress in US/China trade talks, trade experts say not to read to much into these reports. The US/China trade relationship will never be what it was. There is blame on both sides, but US experts largely point at China’s unfair practices as being the largest impediment.
The US-China Trade Conference discussed implications of tariff increases, China production advantages, established supply chain capabilities, ASEAN alternatives, and strategies for mitigating any negative impacts from recent 301 tariff increases. Attendees and speakers valued their established capabilities in China and articulated the difficulties with replicating these capabilities within another an alternative nation in the region.
The warehouse automation market currently exhibits many characteristics that lead me to believe the competitive landscape is on the verge of rapid change. This isn’t typically the case with a mature market. But e-commerce growth, robotics advancements, and international competition have set the stage for an acceleration of change. Market participants that remain complacent are likely to suffer as a result.
Abercrombie & Fitch has struggled. Investments in supply chain agility and omnichannel are a key part of their turnaround strategy. Investing in supply chain speed and efficiency includes improving forecasting in the hard to forecast fashion industry. But they also seek to improve efficiency by “leveraging data analytics to offer the right product at the right time and the right price.”