October 2023

This month’s top stories in the supply chain world

Welcome to our first issue of INBOX! The vision of our INBOX monthly series is to highlight articles for you that we think are timely and important. We do that so that you don’t have to wade through your own inboxes and filter for the good content. The articles put forth come from a wide variety of industry sources, as well as popular media. Some articles are original, written by the RCK staff and our community of friends and partners. Take a look. We hope you enjoy it.

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In this issue:

Can we call supply chain ‘cool’ now?
New legislation = a big win for e-commerce
Why AI is raising concerns.
Diving into the chaos of returns
Why October can be tough on the stock market.
Looking for a new WMS? Start with our eBook.
Visualize your entire supply chain ecosystem with Knosc.

WELCOME TO INBOX

Supply chain is finally cool.

By Bob Kennedy, RC Kennedy Consulting

Many years ago, when my oldest daughter was just 4 years old (she is now 36), I returned from a business trip and was on the bedtime shift. As we finished the last of her books, she looked up and asked, “Daddy, what do you do for work?”

How do you explain what a warehouse management system does to a four-year-old? I tried, and in the process, I realized that explaining supply chain to a kid wasn’t all that much different than discussing the topic with adults. Whether you called it distribution, or warehousing, or logistics or supply chain, the fact is until very recently supply chain was boring and nerdy.

Here’s why that’s changed over the last three decades…

NEWS AND EVENTS

Featured Stories

A matter of trust

Online marketplaces are vulnerable to a trillion-dollar counterfeiting industry. This article by David Maloney in DC Velocity provides the big picture on how counterfeits undermine consumer trust and how the new INFORM act will set forth new requirements to help stem the tide.

Reverse logistics needs some love

This article by Gary Forger in Modern Materials Handling explains why returns aren’t going away and the variables behind the often-chaotic process. Through interviews with several experts, the article poses several questions to consider for your own operations and lays out four options for taming your returns pile.

The surprising brittleness of AI

This article written by Mary (Missy) Cummings, Ph.D. focuses on the current state of artificial intelligence. Cummings analyzes just why AI is struggling to gain traction in safety-critical systems and how the roadmap to success would need to change to achieve positive outcomes.

Headline Roundup

Economic surveys show drop in supply delays since peak of COVID-19, higher prices due to inflation (Census.gov)

Consumers being cautious with holiday spending (Retail Customer Experience)

67% of small business owners foresee revenue increasing over the next year; supply chain and labor issues easing (PRN)

UAW strike will cost billions across the supply chain (EPS News)

House lawmakers unveil supply chain bill (Transport Topics)

Maersk signs up for Elon Musk’s Starlink (Splash247.com)

JUST FOR FUN

What October brings

(Cartoon by Maggie Larson (@maggiejanelarson), via The Real Vermont)

There’s lots to look forward to in October: tricks, treats, fall colors, and fall plaid. But did you also know October can be tough on the stock market?

Jeff Corbett writes: “Known as the ‘October Effect,” the perception that stocks tend to decline during October. It is considered by many to be an investor psychological hurdle rather than a statistic phenomenon. In any case, it is something that can have real outcomes and worth being aware of should markets start dramatic price swings.”

Read Corbett'‘s reflection on past October stock market events at the link below.

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