According to the International Trade Association, MHI, new trends, shifts, and technologies are making their room in the supply chain industry. 11 technological innovations have entered into factories and warehouses, however, the adoption rate of the innovations varies. Cloud computing and storage is the leading innovational trend among others, as it is used by 57% of the firms. Other technologies deployed by companies, include inventory and network optimization tools (45%), sensors and automatic identification (42%), robotics (38%), predictive analytics (31%), IIoT (27%), wearable technologies (26%), 3D printing (21%), autonomous transportation (20%), AI technologies (17%), Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (12%). Read more from Supplychaindive

The pandemic affected multiple industries and supply chains, being one of them, faced issues regarding shipping and food shortages. The South Carolina Restaurant Association informed WHNS, a news channel, that weak links within the supply chain industry hindered restaurants from finalizing their menu for State’s Restaurant Week. Some operators believe that these issues can be resolved if restaurants partner with local distributors and regional suppliers. Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, N.Y., sources many ingredients and products from local suppliers. Consequently, the restaurant does not face any supply chain disruptions. For some eateries, those source items from nearby purveyors, the goal is to achieve sustainability. Sourcing food from adjacent suppliers results in less travel time and low energy emission, which helps develop a friendly ecosystem. Read more from Smartbrief

During the pandemic, few companies benefitted from geographically concentrated production, but it caused risks as well, affecting the entire production network. The supply chain network of the consumer-related industry is generally localized, however, the commodities dependent on international boundaries, such as cosmetics and apparel, led to major bottlenecks. Indeed, industries like food and drink, with a more regionalized supply chain network, have also dealt with difficulties. During these times, companies should focus on establishing an end-to-end transparent system, investing more in digitization, and improving collaboration with suppliers. Plus, they should embrace e-commerce and build a creative, and intelligent team of data scientists and engineers. Read more from Mckinsey

Walmart has included science-based targets to its supply chain network, with the intent of aiding modest and medium-size organizations to make their tasks feasible. Walmart worked with HSBC and CDP, a non-profit organization that assists companies and urban communities with their “environmental impact disclosures.” Walmart added that the updated finance program named Project Gigaton is introduced to reduce one gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions from the company’s supply chain network by 2030. Read more from Supplychaindive

Retailers need to take the following strategic actions against supply chain disruptions if they want to keep up with online and in-store consumer demands in the holiday season. 1, Critically think about pricing and promotion timings. 2, Increase prices to an extent that fulfills the logistics cost and minimally disturbs consumers’ price range. 3, Act upon supply chain triage—stocking the products that are high in demand among consumers. 4, Control the threats of the supply chain by taking some of the shipping issues into own hands instead of relying on third party organizations like Costco, Home Depot, Target and Ikea. 5, Fulfill the omnichannel operations by innovatively adapting to consumers changing behaviours. Read more from Mckinsey

Pitney Bowes, a Parcel Shipping Index firm, reveals that 21% of US parcels are shipped through Amazon Logistics. This rapid growth has placed it ahead of FedEx, whereas UPS still has the lead over Amazon Logistics. Income and volume for all major logistic companies flooded in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic driving more interest for online shipments. However, Amazon Logistics’ development in the two categories has dominated FedEx, UPS, and the Postal Service.

Deloitte, a famous Financial Consultancy, anticipates that the Christmas season sales for 2021 would increase between 7% to 9%, as consumers are more comfortable to step out and shop due to vaccination. As compared to 2020, Christmas sales would increase 11% to 15% this year, reaching $210 billion to $218 billion. Retailers and brands, therefore, should prepare to fulfil the expected demand of consumers.

As per the 2021 Global Imports Report from Jungle Scout, US import percentage is expected to rise up to 20% by the end of 2021. The regions and industries contributing to this rise are limited, as only 10 countries account for 72% of US imports. China is the top ranked country until now that has added most to the import percentage, while India accounts for growth of 76.1% and Vietnam 52.4%. The industries that played a vital role in raising US imports are Machinery and Electrical 20.3%, Miscellaneous 14.5% and Textiles 10.2%.

Open Text, a global research firm, claims that ethical sourcing is shaping the behaviours of consumers and influencing their shopping patterns. Globally 88% of consumers prioritize buying products from companies that have ethical sourcing strategies, while 58% of Japanese, 71% of Canadian, and 72% of US consumers think likewise. Moreover, 83% of global consumers are ready to pay more for a product, if they are ensured that it is ethically sourced. Top-ranked countries where consumers are willing to pay a premium amount are Brazil 87%, India 94%, and Singapore 87%.