In today’s turbulent global economy, manufacturers seeking the refuge of offshore markets to trim labor costs are severely underestimating the requirements for the ongoing management of their outsourced processes. Anyone who doubts this assertion need only look as far as the 2007 headlines about Mattel and other U.S. companies that were bitten by defects in products outsourced to China and other “low-cost” countries.

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Is Africa the growth engine of the 21st Century? Many analysts and companies, including IBM, think so.

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Manufacturers are always looking for a way to lower costs, and right now, with the trucking industry caught in a slump, 2008 should see some of the lowest pricing for transportation since the recession at the start of this century.

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Recent reports tout increases in RFID equipment sales and Wi-Fi real-time location systems. This growth is echoed by our clients at the Emerging Technology Center in Orlando. More and more, company technology leaders are inquiring about real-time tracking of inventory via RFID. However, these inquiries demonstrate market confusion between the capabilities of EPC Gen 2 passive RFID tags and the potential of systems based upon the Wi-Fi standard most commonly used for personal computer wireless networking.

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The Balkans are attracting some foreign money, which largely ignored the economically undeveloped, politically unstable region for years in favor of safer markets in Central European countries.

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To plan ahead, one must first look back, take stock, and then try to peer over the horizon. Senior executives around the world are busy doing just that as they update their company’s strategic and operating plans for 2008 and beyond.

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Thinking about adding cross docking to your operation? A materials handling engineer explains what changes you’ll need to make.

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In economic terms, 2007 will be remembered for a shift from a China-fuelled boom to a property-focussed bust. The present crisis in the global banking and credit system is so acute that some more cautious commentators are already describing it as a “blow to the Anglo-Saxon economic model”.

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In a recent report, Steve Banker of ARC Advisory Group notes that much of the warehouse management system (WMS) software on the market has become “bloated” with too much functionality.

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November volumes indicate a drop in container traffic at retail container ports, according to the National Retail Federation and Global Insight.

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