Tweddle Supply Chain Management

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Commissioner Rebecca Dye said earlier this week that the initial phase of the investigation into port demurrage, detention, and free time practices has commenced, with the FMC ordering ocean common carriers to provide information and documents to explain these practices, adding that this is also happening United States ports container terminals.

Obviously, the new technology would provide a fast and simple way to make tooling, fixtures, and prototype components, and to model a new part before production-but Ford says its exploring the technology for actual production parts, as well, noting "the ability to produce lighter-weight parts that could lead to greater fuel efficiency" and pointing out that a component like a spoiler "may weight less than half its cast metal counterpart."

Small, complex parts are the easiest, most effective models for 3D printing, while larger parts will continue to be produced traditionally.

Within the past year, 3D printing technology has continued to evolve and catch the interest of some major players as it becomes more versatile and cost-effective. Cost decline will have the biggest impact on how the industry changes, according to a Sculpteo report on the state of 3D printing.

Strategic alliances link the key capabilities of two or more organizations. The result is that all parties benefit from the partnership by trading things like skills, technologies, and products. Essentially, these alliances are partnerships that companies use to solve a mutual problem, while they remain independent.

The Outsourcing Decision Matrix is a good starting point for making decisions about whether or not to outsource tasks in your business.

"In order to develop relationships and working closer with suppliers, Toyota and Honda applied what they called a Supplier Partnering Hierarchy, a six step instruction to reach the maximum potential in a buyer supplier relationship."

29% of procurement chiefs surveyed in the Deloitte study are planning to invest in supplier relationship management systems for the upcoming months.

Far from abating, the pace of change in the supply management procession continues to accelerate. ...

"If you take the time to understand them and their motivations..."