Supply chains are constantly changing as new rules, technologies, resources and market trends transform operations. Here's a skim of the week's indexes, technology announcements, expansions and M&As from around the web
In Case You Missed It
- Healthcare supply chains are shifting as cost pressures rise, here's how.
- Peak season hit retailers and carriers hard, slowing the logistics network.
- Mattel unveiled a new cost-savings plan, targeting its supply chain.
Market Snapshot
The Federal Reserve did it again. For the third time this year, and the fifth time since the Great Recession, the central bank raised short-term interest rates this week, banking on a strong economy.
It was to be expected. Months of data show low unemployment and strong GDP projections, despite the recent disasters that struck the United States. Consumer demand is so strong, supply chains are struggling to keep up — both in terms of logistics and production capacity.
What's more, the Trump administration expects to boost the economy further next week, if it passes a much-awaited tax reform. But, in a press conference, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen offered a "lukewarm endorsement" of the tax plan, according to The New York Times. The Times' BinYamin Appelbaum sums it up best:
Janet Yellen's final answer at her final press conference:
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) December 13, 2017
"Let me emphasize that correlation is not causation.”
That's how an economist goes out in style, folks.
Technically Speaking
This week in tech, SpaceX launched a rocket to the International Space Station containing grains of barley to see if it's possible to brew beer in space -- or on Mars, according to CNN. The rationale behind the project, backed by Budweiser, is to eventually build a sustainable community on another planet that can support human life and flourishing. For supply chains, this new development could inspire innovation in the cold chain and food transport on Earth as well as in space.
In an opinion published on Supply and Demand Chain Executive, a UPS executive noted that 3-D printing could help manufacturers better control their inventories and reduce waste. That's a big endorsement coming from a 3PL, especially since the tech is still pretty new and largely untested in the business marketplace.
Speaking of new tech, Europe's first fully digital freight forwarder, FreightHub, just nabbed $20 million in Series A funding, according to TechCrunch. The startup believes it can manipulate technology to be a more efficient and effective forwarder than older companies that haven't upgraded to the newest software and processes. If FreightHub succeeds, it could be a game-changer for 3PLs, especially as more shippers attempt to do their own logistics and rely less heavily on forwarders and brokers.
Breaking Ground
FCA just opened a $10.4 million, 500,000 distribution center outside Detroit, Crain's reported, adding to the growing number of warehouses in the Detroit area as it becomes a major distribution hub.
In Richmond, Hourigan Development bought an 110-acre warehouse for $8.5 million, and is planning to tear it down to make way for a new warehousing, distribution and manufacturing space, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported last week.
In other news, DHL employees will soon start working at a new $69 million, 1.1 million square foot Mills Fleet Farm warehouse in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The warehouse is expected to employ 325, according to the Leader-Telegram.
Mergers and Analysis
In a turnabout in the tech industry, Singapore-based Broadcom may have created a whiplash to American workers. The semiconductor company announced in November that they were moving their headquarters to the U.S., much to the praise of President Donald Trump.
However, as The New York Times reported, the relocation of Broadcom's headquarters may have carried with it an alternate strategy, a mounting $100 billion bid to acquire Qualcomm, a move aided by the president's aversion to foreign companies. A Broadcom acquisition would bring Qualcomm's chip technology under its umbrella and along with it "synergies" that may end up costing American workers the jobs that Broadcom was expected to bring.
In other news, Supervalu has followed a familiar recipe, completing its acquisition of Associated Grocers of Florida in a deal valued at $193 million, as reported by Drug Store News. Supervalu's national distribution center continues its expansion with this second completed deal, following its acquisition of Unified Grocers earlier this year. AG of Florida is the latest step, according to CEO and President Mark Gross, of "becoming the wholesaler of choice for grocery retailers."
