As scientists and politicians study and debate the issue of climate change and what to do about it, the shipping industry, mining industry, and oil and gas industries are celebrating a possible new trade route opening between the Far East and the West. The icy waters of the Arctic are thawing, opening the waters to ships…
For years, companies in the U.S. and Europe have turned to cheap labor forces in Asia to manufacture products. At the time, this was beneficial to the companies, which saved money and could offer cheaper products, and to the workers, who had access to jobs and job training that led to greater wealth and prosperity….
Though the consumer market has been slow to embrace green products and sustainable practices, industrial companies are moving toward sustainability more quickly, especially in sales to business to business (B2B) products and processes. The glass, chemical, and paint manufacturer PPG, based in Pittsburg, PA, illustrates this point perfectly. PPG spokespersons maintain the company has had the…
With the recent innovations in technology, environmental policy, and the global supply chain, it’s no surprise that the logistics industry is also undergoing tremendous changes. The transportation industry is trying to clean up their bad environmental reputation and use new technologies to make it easier, faster, and more efficient to transport goods to businesses and…
The deadly rail accident in Quebec last month, blamed on the lack of proper application of hand brakes on a train carrying crude oil from North Dakota to Canada, has caused more news this week. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration has issued a letter to the American Petroleum Institute…
Argos is the biggest non-food retailer in the United Kingdom. Their annual sales are $6.7 billion. They sell home improvement products, lawn and garden items, and other home and electrical appliances from their catalog, website and 700 stores around the United Kingdom and Ireland. During their rapid growth, Argos needed to improve the efficiency of…
Gains and loss reports for the first half of 2013 are in, and show mixed signals in terms of our overall economic situation. The economy grew at a sluggish 1.7 percent annual rate for the second quarter (April through June), according to the announcement by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. Though this was a better…
Proctor & Gamble employs 130,000 workers in 80 countries, offering a variety of consumer products under an array of brand names. In 2005, this $55 billion company acquired Gillette, a Cincinnati, Ohio based company which provides razors, Oral-B dental health products, Braun shavers, Duracell batteries, and various small appliances. Gillette’s distribution center for products sold…
A new study by Stratfor Global Intelligence concludes that China is stepping down from its unofficial position as the go to cheap labor source of the world, and other developing countries are now emerging as a replacement option for global manufacturers in need of a cheap labor source. By the year 2015, China’s most expensive…
In 2000, Commerce One was to take the e-commerce market handily. Competitor Ariba was the only perceived rival, as IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle weren’t yet major players. The world had survived Y2K and the dot coms were taking over, the perfect playground for Commerce One to grow and prosper. So, what happened? What can we learn…