New supply chain trends

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Jason Cross is the SVP, Digital Presence and Commerce, at Newfold Digital; Jason has a long history of assisting SMBs. It’s easy to argue that starting a small business has never been more exciting. The pandemic made e-commerce more popular than ever and, in many ways, lowered the barriers between aspiring entrepreneurs and the digital tools they need to succeed. Business owners in various fields found that selling and advertising their products and services online could be a new growth channel and opportunity. Despite these positive trends, economic uncertainty has become a test of SMBs’ resilience. But just as the pandemic created new opportunities, small-business owners and entrepreneurs now have a chance to capitalize on a difficult moment. Here are a few tips for weathering tough times to strengthen your small business or side hustle. Have The Right Expectations Entrepreneurship starts with passion … [Read more...] about How New SMBs Can Set Themselves Up For Online Success

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin John Clemons consults for Rockwell Automation and Maverick Technologies , a leading platform-independent automation solutions provider. Smart manufacturing has taken a lot of information technology and made it work in manufacturing, all the way down to the shop floor. The internet of things, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), cloud computing, wireless technologies, big data and advanced analytics are all now part of manufacturing operations. They’re having a big impact on manufacturing industries, transforming them back into an economic powerhouse. The important point here isn’t so much about the technologies and their tremendous impact on industry as it is about how they are transforming manufacturing. In these articles, we’re looking at six specific ways that smart manufacturing is transforming manufacturing operations. In the companion article to this one, we … [Read more...] about Smart Manufacturing Helps Accelerate Business Growth (Part 2): Focus On Waste, Velocity And Agility

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Foundation Alloy, a vertically integrated metal part production platform, announced it has raised a $10.5 million seed funding round co-led by The Engine and Material Impact, and includes an investment by Safar Partners. The startup, which specializes in manufacturing high performing metal parts, was founded in February of this year by CEO Jake Guglin, Head of Research & Development Jasper Lienhard, and Professors Chris Schuh (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Tim Rupert (University of California Irvine.) “The three main competencies are alloy designs, powder manufacturing and 3-D printing,” says Guglin. The metals created through the company can be tailored to specific applications across critical industries like aerospace and defense, automotive, energy and industrial manufacturing. The company says that through the technologies it has developed , it can make parts using less energy and creating less … [Read more...] about This Startup Raised Over $10 Million To Make Metal Manufacturing More Efficient And Sustainable

SOHN HAE-YONG The author is the economic news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo. Korean lawmakers get some of the best treatments in the world. Last year, each member of the National Assembly was paid 154.26 million won ($117,900) before taxes, including salary and activity allowance. In terms of per capita GDP, Japan and Italy are the only countries that give higher salaries to lawmakers than their Korean counterparts. On top of that, lawmakers are provided with extra expenses, including business expenses, gasoline subsidies and trip expenses. Each lawmaker has nine aids. All together, one lawmaker costs 756 million won a year. The money is deposited into the account of lawmakers every month even if they do not engage in parliamentary activities. It is entirely paid by taxpayers’ money. Though lawmakers are paid a salary equivalent to the labor cost of a good medium-sized business, their productivity is very low. The approval rate of bills proposed in the 21st National Assembly is … [Read more...] about [Meanwhile] ‘No work, no pay’ for lawmakers, too (KOR)

Bird's-eye view of Saemangeum economic zone where SK On will build a new plant [Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency] Korean battery maker SK On will build a 1.21 trillion-won ($945 million) manufacturing facility on the country's southwest coast in a joint project with local materials producer EcoPro and China's Green Eco-Manufacture (GEM). Under an agreement due to be signed Friday, the three companies plan to spend up to 1.21 trillion won for what will be their second joint venture to construct a plant for precursor, key materials used in electric vehicle battery. The precursor plant, to be located in Saemangeum, a reclaimed area on the country's southwest coast, aims for an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons, equivalent to powering about 300,000 electric vehicles. Construction is set to be completed in 2024. The trio of companies signed in November last year their first venture deal to build a facility in Indonesia to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate … [Read more...] about SK On to build $945 million precursor plant in joint venture

A U.S. ban on the world’s most popular social media app would affect far more American businesses and people than just the 150 million using the platform here. C asey Evertsen drove down a suburban Utah street lined with trash bins, speaking into his phone’s camera as he gave a tour of the brightly-colored truck he uses for his garbage can-cleaning business. “If you like seeing dirty stuff get cleaned and watching how cool stuff works, follow along,” he said in the video shared on TikTok. “Let’s clean some bins!” Evertsen’s service, Bin Blasters , had for a whole year struggled to get traction through Facebook and Instagram. So taking a cue from his teenage daughter, he decided to try promoting it on TikTok instead. On his eighth video, just one month in, Evertsen “blew up.” "I went out and just started cleaning bins that day, started on our route, and I look at my phone like an hour later, and there's 17,000 views,” he recalled. “Then it just got in the millions.” … [Read more...] about How A TikTok Ban Would Deal A Blow To Creators, Businesses And The American Economy

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Back in September, President Biden inked a new executive order setting the government on a bold new course for creating a national biostrategy . One of the first tasks assigned to each of the government agencies was to develop goals that outline how they plan to realize the vision of a bio-based economy. Yesterday the White House issued a report highlighting just that. Spearheaded by Georgia Lagoudas, Senior Advisor for Biotechnology and Bioeconomy at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy who is responsible for implementing the Executive Order , the document contains a number of specific strategies developed by agencies like the USDA, NIH, NSF, DOE, and DOD for introducing climate change solutions, food and agriculture innovation, supply chain resilience, human health, as well as cross-cutting advances that can have an impact across all those sectors. Representatives from those agencies spoke at the … [Read more...] about U.S. Government Sets Bold Goals For The U.S. Bioeconomy – Including A Target For 30% Of Bio-Based Chemicals

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Mercedes-Benz stock (OTCMKTS: MBGAF) has had a relatively strong year so far, with its stock up by almost 10%, outperforming the S&P 500. Mercedes posted a relatively strong set of Q4 2022 results, with revenue rising by about 16% year-over-year to about Euro 41 billion ($44 billion). Overall wholesale deliveries expanded by 7% versus last year as supply chain and semiconductor supply-related issues continued to ease. Net profits from continuing operations also rose 66% to about Euro 3.72 per share ($4.01), driven by higher volumes and an expanding mix of top-end vehicles, which saw unit sales rise 14%. However, despite the relatively strong numbers over the last quarter, we remain neutral on Mercedes stock, with a price estimate of about $78 per share, which is roughly in line with the current market price. Now, although Mercedes stock trades at a relatively reasonable valuation of under 7x projected 2023 earnings, … [Read more...] about Is Mercedes-Benz Stock Good Value At $76 Per Share?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When it comes to issues around sustainability and energy, there are few subjects less controversial than biomass. Often hailed as a lower carbon option for heating or generating electricity, biomass involves the burning of wood pellets, chips or logs. Its proponents argue that biomass has a key role to play in the road to net zero, using wood that is unsuitable for other products and would otherwise go to waste. But critics have pointed out that biomass still involves burning natural materials, which can pollute the atmosphere. The campaigning group Cut Carbon Not Forest recently published a new survey, which shows 73% of respondents are concerned that burning trees in power stations could be making air pollution worse and harming people's health. The survey also found almost two thirds of those surveyed (64%) agree that it is misleading to call biomass green. And only 3.4% believed burning wood from other … [Read more...] about Is Biomass A Friend Or Foe Of The Environment?

Diana Permana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ● Fri, March 24, 2023 2023-03-24 03:51 0 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc32bf90 3 Academia private-sector,geothermal,power-plant,cooperation,pertamina,New-Zealand,technology Free As a country that is geographically located in the world's Ring of Fire, Indonesia has an abundance of geothermal potential. In fact, it is one of the largest in the world. Yet only 10 percent, 2.29 Gigawatts out of a potential 23 GW, of geothermal energy is being utilized in Indonesia. The low utilization is the result of the high risk associated with geothermal explorations, along with high investment costs, collateral requirements and uncertainty around permits and licenses. To better utilize the abundance of potential energy and ultimately to meet its renewable energy transition goals, the Indonesian government itself has actually prepared various instruments, including issuing various ease-of-doing-business regulations and policies to … [Read more...] about Indonesia needs international cooperation to develop its geothermal power