Autonomous sourcing won’t solve everything at the ports, but it certainly helps
Good morning! Happy Saturday, folks! Let’s get the ball rolling:
“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” — Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance
With increasing costs of operations and labor strife putting ports under massive amounts of pressure, the need for autonomous sourcing is only growing more obvious. while this method cannot stop labor strikes or even halt supply chain challenges at the ports, it certainly can provide a way for teams to react to these unprecedented issues quickly and efficiently. Approximately 90% of manual work is taken out of the equation when a port looks to adopt a digital transformation strategy.
Check out today’s featured article from Supply Chain Brain to read about the growing need for autonomous sourcing to improve cargo operations at America’s maritime trading ports. ☕️
Featured Article:
The Problem with Ports – and How Autonomous Sourcing Can Help | Supply Chain Brain
“If supply chains are the “heart” of global trade, then cargo operations at maritime trading ports are the coronary arteries — necessary for survival, but prone to blockages. And the last year would have required many trips to the emergency room.”
Manufacturing & Business Strategy 💡
Stanley Black & Decker seeks supply chain transformation, throws out 50,000 SKUs
Stanley Black & Decker President and CEO Don Allan has announced that the company is hoping to generate $500 million in savings by the end of 2022. How they’ll be doing this? By cutting back on nearly 50,000 SKUs as part of a supply chain transformation plan. Along with this SKU slash, the company plans to consolidate its facilities and begin optimizing its distribution network over the following calendar year.
This supply chain restructuring of the large toolmaker brand is likely to generate $1.5 billion in cost savings over the next three years. Allan made a point on an October 27th earnings call that commodity prices have dropped as much as 50% since April.
Artificial Intelligence & Manufacturing 🤖
Warehousing & manufacturing industry can benefit from augmented reality
It’s no secret that the manufacturing and warehousing floors are some of the most dangerous places for workers to be in, often full of machinery and confusing layouts. AI-powered machinery often requires an on-site expert to repair and monitor its operations, and its presence in warehouses is only growing. The technology of augmented reality can be of great assistance to manufacturing industries on this basis.
AI and AR technology can provide active training and up killing for workers in a collaborative position with robots. It also suggests better inspection and verification of manufactured items, increasing quality assurance practices. Manual processes, while still relevant, do not aggregate any new data for companies to analyze and improve upon. AI and AR technology can leave the perfect breadcrumb trail to assess.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
GIF By UBTECH via GIPHY
🤖 The robotics era of the world has officially begun. The International Federation of Robotics is reporting that 500,000 robots were installed globally in 2021 alone, a new record-breaking pace. That is 22% higher than the previous annual record made in 2018. Humans and robots working in the labor force amicably side-by-side are probably more of the norm than some think. Collaborative robots are abundant in distribution centers for order picking. Humans are able to remain in a singular area while robots are able to do the heavy lifting across zones.
News Bag 🗞️
This Week in Logistics News (November 5 – 11) | Logistics Viewpoints
In this article, Logistics Viewpoints contributor Chris Cunnane writes about some of the most pertinent topics over the week in the logistics industry, including nearshoring, slowing down hiring, and union disputes stalling the ports on the West Coast.
Fuel Tech ☀️
Podcast | Solar Energy Is Here to Stay — and Growing | Supply Chain Brain
In this article, Supply Chain Brain Editor-in-Chief Bob Brown summarizes a recent SCB podcast episode with Clark Wiedetz, chief sales officer with GreenStruxure. Together they discuss solar energy and its place in the future of many companies’ energy-sourcing strategies.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for November 28, 2024, from iLevel Logistics Inc.