by Fronetics | Jul 11, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Here are our most-viewed supply chain and logistics blog posts from this year as of July 1, 2019.
Throughout the year, we regularly write blog posts to help our readers stay on top of the latest news and trends happening in the supply chain and logistics industries, particularly in regards to digital marketing. We hope these posts provide insight, tips, and insider information on how to stay ahead of your competitors with the consistent publication of quality content.
We’ve covered some great stuff this year, from new trends in automation to the best places to distribute your videos. Here’s a look at our most popular posts so far this year.
Top supply chain and logistics blog posts from 2019 (so far)
1. Top 3 Logistics and Supply Chain Blogs of 2019
You voted, and the results are in! Cerasis is your number one blog of the year, with Women in Trucking and Hollingsworth coming in second and third. Read more
2. Digital Marketing for the Supply Chain and Logistics Industries
Today’s B2B buyers are researching, evaluating, and coming to conclusions about companies without a single contact with a team member or salesperson. This kind of B2B buying landscape requires cutting-edge marketing strategies to showcase nut-and-bolt industries that have survived without them for many years. Read more
3. Send in the Drones: How PINC & Amazon Have Optimized Inventory Management
It’s been five years since Charlie Rose interviewed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on 60 Minutes about new innovations that Amazon was working on. Bezos revealed that Amazon was on the brink of a supply chain revolution involving octocoptor drones transporting parcels: Amazon Prime Air. Read more
4. 4 Examples of AI for the Supply Chain
Artificial intelligence is not simply affecting supply chain management; it is revolutionizing it. With the power to drastically increase efficiency in all areas of the supply chain, McKinsey estimates that firms could gain $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion a year from using AI in supply chain and manufacturing. Read more
5. Infographic: 10 Companies that Are Getting Instagram for B2B Marketing Right
Instagram now boasts over 1 billion monthly active users, making it one of the most popular social media platforms out there. It’s a tremendous opportunity for businesses. In fact, recent research has shown that 66% of brands now use Instagram. But many B2B marketers are still struggling to find their footing on this highly visual platform. Read more
6. B2B Digital Marketing Trends, Budgets, and Benchmarks: Highlights for 2019
The Content Marketing Institute has published its ninth annual survey, giving insight into the most significant digital marketing trends and priorities for 2019. We’ll get into some key takeaways in detail, but perhaps the most striking finding was one that we’ve been talking about for years. Read more
7. Video: 4 Best Channels for Video Distribution
Knowing the right video distribution channels can go a long way toward driving traffic and getting your content to your target audience. Bottom line is using the right distribution channels helps you get the most out of your video marketing efforts. Here are the 4 best channels for distributing your videos. Read more
8. Video: 6 Digital Marketing Trends for the Supply Chain 2019
Digital marketing has become essential for creating brand awareness, educating audiences and building trust and credibility with your customers. Supply chain and logistics companies increasingly see the value in digital marketing. They’re increasing their budgets, and it’s important to understand what the trends are for the upcoming year. Read more
9. How Rogue Ales is Leveraging IoT to Revolutionize the Beer Brewing Industry
Rogue Ales believes that its “Ground to Glass, Grow your Own Revolution” is a key tenet to its success. The company leverages the Internet of Things (IoT) to ensure that the supply chain is able to deliver the highest-quality ingredients to its breweries just in time. Read more
10. 6 Content Marketing Trends for the Supply Chain in 2019
Content marketing is no longer optional. It’s essential in creating brand awareness, educating audiences, and building credibility. Here’s a look at the biggest digital marketing trends for 2019. Read more
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by Fronetics | May 2, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Manufacturing & Distribution, Marketing, Strategy, Supply Chain
As automation technologies become increasingly sophisticated, companies throughout the supply chain are realizing the beneficial impact of automation on materials handling.
Highlights:
- Manufacturers of automation technologies are predicted to grow significantly over the next 5 years.
- Automating the “first mile” of the supply chain helps reduce labor challenges and leads to increased productivity.
- Robotics technologies offer greater capacity for data collection, facilitating informed process decisions.
While the impact of automation on the “last mile” of the supply chain is often the subject of public interest, automation in the “first mile” deserves just as much attention. Advanced robotics are increasingly ensuring accuracy — while minimizing or even eliminating human involvement in various processes — at every stage of the supply chain. Industry experts are predicting an ever-growing impact of automation on materials handling, with companies reaping the benefits up and down the supply chain.
Particularly in the materials-handling sector, human capital is increasingly difficult to recruit and maintain. Additionally, labor costs in global markets such as India and China are rising. Naturally, companies are increasingly inclined to replace or redeploy human labor, with the help of automated material-handling systems.
Not to mention, the increasing sophistication of machine-learning capabilities or AI within available automation technologies allows for even greater productivity. And there’s strong reason to believe that we’re only seeing the beginning of what automation can do. Vendors who create these technologies are investing heavily in R&D, aggressively attempting to expand their product offerings to meet specific industry demands while complying with the complex standards and regulations in place.
Quantifying the costs and impact of automation on materials handling
The robust growth in the robotics-equipment-manufacturing sector demonstrates that the materials-handling industry is investing in automation. Thanks to the demand for high-performance robotics systems, New Equipment Digest (NED) predicts that within the materials-handling-equipment sector, the robotics segment will grow by over 8%, reaching $20 billion by the year 2024. The overall material-handling-equipment market is expected to surpass $190 billion by the same year, according to a growth forecast report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
“Growing automation capabilities in the manufacturing space coupled with increasing penetration of advanced technologies, such as IoT, RFID, and AI, are expected to drive the material-handling-equipment market growth,” predicts the NED. These technologies are already increasing productivity and throughput in the materials-handling sector and reducing the potential for human error. The predicted growth in the manufacturing of robotics equipment points to the increasingly positive impact of automation supply chain-wide.
Of course, automation is not without its challenges. Companies face technical issues involved in implementation, not to mention the large capital outlay required to invest in costly equipment and technologies. With increased technical sophistication and network utilization, there are threats to cybersecurity, requiring companies to invest in measures to protect their technology.
Robotics-equipment manufacturers recognize that while automation offers significant benefits for materials handling, companies need to study potential impact before making these costly investments.
Many manufacturers are offering tools for quantifying the impact of automation on materials handling. OTTO Motors, a manufacturer of self-driving-vehicles, offers an ROI calculator, allowing potential buyers the opportunity to receive an easy ROI estimate. Manufacturers are also increasingly offering simulations of materials-handling systems, allowing potential customers to determine efficacy, test designs, and study new procedures without disrupting operations.
Realizing the benefits of automation for materials handling
Beyond the well-known benefits, such as decreased costs and increased productivity, automating materials-handling processes can offer a variety of additional advantages to companies’ first-mile operations. In fact, streamlining these processes and reducing costs has its own positive repercussions throughout a company’s operations, as it allows for increased speed, productivity, and accuracy operation-wide.
[bctt tweet=”Automating materials-handling processes has its own positive repercussions throughout a company’s operations, as it allows for increased speed, productivity, and accuracy operation-wide.” username=”Fronetics”]
Additional benefits of automating materials handling include:
- The access to real-time data provided by automated technologies allows for more complete Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
- Labor shortages and high turnover are some of the primary challenges in materials handling – automation shields manufacturers from these challenges, while allowing human labor to be repurposed into more intricate tasks.
- Implementing technology in the materials-handling phase of the supply chain can connect to other automated processes within the factory.
- The availability of data and the ability to leverage it allows adjustments to be made in real time, meaning more flexible manufacturing.
The bottom line is that, while it can be costly at the outset, automation at the front end of the supply chain, namely materials handling, offers rich and diverse benefits sector-wide.
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by Fronetics | Apr 24, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Automation
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we live and do business. But can robots replace humans when it comes to content creation?
Highlights
- Artificial intelligence is already creating content.
- Some analysts predict that human writers will become obsolete in time.
- At least for now, there are aspects of human-generated content that robots can’t replicate.
What used to be a light-hearted, science-fiction version of the future — in which menial jobs would increasingly be performed by robots — has increasingly become a reality. We’ve seen how automation has shaped the supply chain and logistics industries in the past decade. But as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and reach new levels of sophistication, will something as complex as content creation no longer require human input?
AI is already creating content
In 2016, McKinsey Quarterly predicted that “while automation will eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next decade, it will affect portions of almost all jobs to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the type of work they entail.” Of course, there are jobs that require empathic functions or advanced social skills, which are less subject to replacement by machine learning. But content creation, though it does require original thought and synthesis of complex ideas, is in a greyer area.
The fact is, AI-generated content is already a reality. It shouldn’t come entirely as a surprise. After all, we’ve been writing about marketing automation for a while now, including, for example, chatbots or computer programs that simulate human conversation. According to Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, “In 10 years, the majority of content will be generated by software. In 20 years, humans will wonder why we wasted so much time on content creation.”
In a notable example of AI creating content, the Washington Post developed “Heliograf,” a bot capable of generating short reports for readers, to aid in the coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. When it was first developed, Heliograf could update readers on game outcomes, including when medals were awarded. Since then, it has written over 850 articles, including updates on high school football games and automated earnings coverage. Even now, the Washington Post uses Heliograf to supplement the work of its human writers — and has no intention of replacing them.
Natural language generation
Before we get further into the nitty-gritty of whether human content writers are doomed to obsolescence, let’s take a step back and take a look at the main function of AI when it comes to content creation. Natural language generation (NLG) is how we describe AI that can produce logical, coherent text.
“Natural language generation is a software process that automatically turns data into human-friendly prose,” writes Laura Pressman of Automated Insights. It’s important to recognize that while NLG can create content, it can’t do so without being fed data and a templated format. Essentially, when given data and a format, NLG can output content that reads as if it was written by a human.
Why we still need humans
It’s staggering what AI can produce when it comes to convincing, effective content. But even as technology becomes smarter and more sophisticated at creating content, humans haven’t been replaced just yet.
[bctt tweet=”While it’s true that content marketing should be data-driven, studies are also increasingly showing the value of intangible creativity — the kind that can’t be generated by an algorithm — in the marketing sector and beyond.” username=”Fronetics”]
Proponents of fully AI-driven marketing argue that the kind of creativity required to produce effective content marketing can all be boiled down to numbers. While it’s true that content marketing should be data-driven, studies are also increasingly showing the value of intangible creativity — the kind that can’t be generated by an algorithm — in the marketing sector and beyond.
The memories, emotions, preferences, and frailties of human writers allow for the possibility of creativity and connection that AI can’t replicate. Yes, content marketing is about data. But there’s no substitute for the way a human brain can create language and ideas that connect and resonate with another human brain.
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by Fronetics | Apr 18, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Manufacturing & Distribution, Robotics & Automation, Supply Chain
A McKinsey & Company report studied the impact of automation in manufacturing driven by rapid advances in robotics, AI, and machine learning.
Highlights:
- New robotics technologies are cheaper, faster, and smarter than before.
- 87% of hours workers spend in production could be automated with existing technologies.
- Learn what four factors to consider when making decisions about automation.
Since the industrial revolution, automation has been a major disruptor in manufacturing. Once again, a new generation of robotics and related technologies is reshaping the face of the manufacturing and distribution industries. In fact, American manufacturing has made a recent comeback, thanks in large part to the widespread use of automation and robotics.
Automation technologies that were once cost-prohibitive are now more achievable — and the return on investment is greater than ever before. The new generation of robots are not only far less expensive than their ancestors, but they are also more versatile, flexible, and able to learn new tasks, even those that were far too difficult for machines just a few short years ago.
[bctt tweet=”The new generation of robots are not only far less expensive than their ancestors, but they are also more versatile, flexible, and able to learn new tasks, even those that were far too difficult for machines just a few short years ago.” username=”Fronetics”]
Robots are now capable of, for example, “picking and packing irregularly spaced objects, and resolving wiring conflicts in large-scale projects in, for example, the aerospace industry,” according to a recent report from McKinsey & Company. Not only that, artificial intelligence is leveling the playing field between human and machine, and “increasing the potential for automating work activities in many industries. In one recent test, for example, computers were able to read lips far more accurately than professionals.”
Quantifying the impact of automation on manufacturing
McKinsey’s study, which covered 46 countries and about 80% of the global workforce, determined that a tremendous amount of working hours could be eliminated or repurposed by automation with technology that is already here.
The study found that “87% of the hours spent on activities performed by workers in production occupations are automatable — the most of any manufacturing occupation.”
And it doesn’t stop there. “Even among other occupations in manufacturing (for example, engineering, maintenance, materials movement, management, and administration), however, there is still significant opportunity, with approximately 45 percent of these working hours automatable as well.”
The cost and logistics of automating
In general, the study found that automation allowed wages to increase globally and profits to grow. The authors emphasize the fact that in order to capture long-term value from automation, manufacturers’ best bet is to implement technologies in phases, capturing value at each phase, allowing for future investment.
Many complex factors come into play when it comes to meeting the challenges associated with automation, deciding what to automate, and when to implement technologies to best capture long-term value. Cost is just one element, albeit an important one.
McKinsey suggests considering the following four factors when making decisions about what to automate:
- Technical feasibility
- Cost associated with developing and deploying necessary hardware and software
- Cost of labor and resultant “supply-and-demand dynamics”
- Benefits beyond labor substitution, such as increased output and quality, and fewer errors
An American manufacturing renaissance
The Association for Advancing Automation has predicted that “American manufacturing’s embrace of robotics will ensure a new manufacturing renaissance in this country.” Already, we’re seeing a steady trickle of companies reversing outsourcing trends, as it’s becoming profitable again for manufacturing to take place in the United States, rather than relying on cheap labor abroad.
As more operations embrace automation — and as we continue to witness rapid advances in robotics, AI, and machine learning — American manufacturers won’t be the only ones to reap the benefits. Many experts are predicting that automation in manufacturing will create new, better paying jobs.
Optimists include our own CEO Frank Cavallaro, who recently wrote: “From what I see now … I still feel optimistic that AI and automation will create leaner, more efficient operations that will, in turn, create new (even if different) jobs. To me, it still looks like the ones winning from the increasing technological advances in the manufacturing industry are, in fact, we humans.”
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by Jennifer Hart Yim | Feb 28, 2019 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Warehousing & Materials Handling
If you want to keep your customers satisfied, you need to keep things moving in your facility. Use these tips to keep up the pace and increase warehouse and distribution center efficiency.
Highlights:
- Speed has become the name of the game when it comes to staying competitive in the global supply chain.
- Keep your priorities in mind when organizing your warehouse, including your fastest-moving products.
- Digital technology can take the guesswork out of inventory and warehouse management with employees scanning products every step of the way.
This guest post was written by David Maddenfor Argentus Supply Chain Recruiting, a boutique recruitment firm specializing in Supply Chain Management and Procurement.
Things can always be faster when you work in a warehouse or distribution center. Speed has become the name of the game when it comes to staying competitive in the global supply chain. Major players like Amazon and Walmart have distribution centers all over the world, pumping out packages at lightning speed.
If you want to keep your customers satisfied, you need to keep things moving in your warehouse or distribution center. Use these tips to keep up the pace and make your facility as efficient as possible.
1. Keep your warehouse organized
Nothing stymies operational efficiency like a poorly-organized warehouse. Your facility should have a thoroughly thought-out floor plan that your employees can navigate with ease. The space should be organized so that your staff members can access products and packages without getting in each other’s way. Your employees may need to process different orders simultaneously, so they should have plenty of space to avoid stepping on each other’s toes. Today’s warehouses are much larger than they were in the past, creating more space for speed and efficiency.
Items should be clearly labeled on the shelf and organized in a way that makes sense for your facility. You can group packages by their contents, destination or point of origin. This layout should make sense to your employees, so they’ll be able find the items they need without having to look at a spreadsheet.
2. Prioritize fast-moving products
Keep your priorities in mind when organizing your warehouse. Every element of your chosen layout should favor your fastest-moving products. Bestsellers don’t tend to sit on the shelf for very long, so make sure your employees can easily retrieve them at all times. Your employees shouldn’t have to go all the way to the back just to retrieve a product, especially if it’s one of your most popular items. You can help everyone save time by moving these fast-selling products to the front of your warehouse. They should be kept low to the ground and close to the loading dock.
Your entire warehouse layout should focus on moving better-performing products to the front, while keeping the less popular products at the back. Go over your inventory and rate your products based on how often your employees need to retrieve them. This should inform your thinking as you change the layout of your facility.
3. Automate the data collection process
Running a warehouse these days is all about data. Digital technology can take the guesswork out of inventory and warehouse management with employees scanning products every step of the way. Your facility should collect as much data on your products as possible, including where they’re coming from, when they arrive, what condition they are in, where they’re going and when they’re set to leave. You can use this data to keep tabs on the location of your products. At any given moment, you’ll know exactly how many products are being stored at your facility.
But in order to improve efficiency, you need to automate the data collection process as much as possible. Your staff members should automatically retrieve this data as they go about unloading and scanning items that have just arrived at the facility and getting them ready for the last leg of their journey. You can use handheld scanners and radio frequency identification tags to simplify this process. Automating data collection also reduces costly errors like inaccurate data entry.
Warehouse automation technology is already a $1.9 billion industry, and it’s expected to balloon to $22 billion by the year 2021. If you want to stay competitive, it might be time to invest in automation. You’ll have all the information you need at your fingertips without adding any additional steps to your operations.
4. Use inventory management software
As you collect all this data on the shipping containers and products moving in and out of your facility, you can save time by sending that info right to your company’s inventory management software. This technology helps you make sense of all the data in a matter of seconds. You can quickly see how many products are on the shelf, when shipments need to go out and when new shipments are due to arrive. Software programs are synced to your data collection devices, so you won’t have to worry about entering that information twice.
[bctt tweet=”Artificially intelligent software programs can even help you anticipate future outcomes like inventory shortages, delivery delays and other potential problems. ” username=”Fronetics”]
Certain artificially intelligent software programs can even help you anticipate future outcomes like inventory shortages, delivery delays and other potential problems. They keep a log of the history of your facility’s operations to help better predict what’s going to happen in the future.
5. Save time with cross docking
If you have fast-moving products coming through the door, you can save time with what’s known as cross docking. Instead of putting these products back on the shelf only to have your employees retrieve them hours later, direct them to a temporary staging area for scanning and inventory purposes. This temporary staging area should be close to the loading dock. When the products are ready for the next leg of their trip, your employees can quickly retrieve them and get them out the door without having to look for them on the shelf.
6. Increase visibility with better lighting
The key to operational efficiency isn’t always as complicated as it seems. Sometimes all you need is better lighting. Warehouses tend to have tall ceilings, and lighting the space, including all those individual shelves, can be a challenge. If you want to be speed up your warehouse operations, everyone should be able to see clearly as they go about their business. Staff members should be able to read labels and use containers without having to squint. Keeping the lights on also helps your employees stay awake, especially if they’re getting a shipment ready in the middle of the night.
Working towards warehouse efficiency
Making your warehouse more efficient starts with having the right layout in place. Your products should be organized according to their popularity. You should automatically collect data on your products as soon as they enter the facility. And always make sure your employees have enough space and light to do their jobs. Follow these steps and you’ll get orders out the door in record time.
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