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President Biden’s Targeted Exclusion Process

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President Biden’s Targeted Exclusion Process

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The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is considering reinstating previously granted and extended exclusions on a case-by-case basis. Similar to the previous exclusion process, USTR has three considerations:

1. Whether the particular product remains available only from China

2. Whether reinstating the exclusion, or not reinstating the exclusion, will impact or result in severe economic harm to the commenter or other U.S. interests, including the impact on small businesses, employment, manufacturing output, and critical supply chains in the United States

3. The overall impact of the exclusions on the goal of obtaining the elimination of China’s acts, policies and practices covered in the Section 301 investigation.

In accordance with a USTR statement made on October 5, 2021, companies may submit comments either in support or opposition of the restatement of a particular exclusion. A list of the over 500 exclusions covered by the notice is posted separately on the USTR website here. The reinstated exclusions will be retroactive to October 12, 2021. The commenting period opens on October 12, 2021 and closes December 1, 2021.


Biden Administration’s New Approach to the U.S.-China Trade Relationship

The reopening of the Section 301 tariff exclusion process is the first action in the Biden Administration’s New Approach to the U.S.-China Trade Relationship. Ambassador Katherine Tai, the USTR, outlined the Biden Administration’s New Approach in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on October 4, 2021. Ambassador Tai identified four items as the starting point of this new approach:

-Enforcement of the Phase One Agreement;

-A new targeted Section 301 tariff exclusion process;

-Addressing concerns with China’s state-centered and non-market trade practices; and

-Working with allies to shape the rules for fair trade in the 21st century.

Following up on the second item, USTR issued its request for comments on the reinstatement of certain Section 3011 exclusions on October 5, 2021. Baker Donelson’s trade professionals expect additional actions as a result of the Biden Administration’s new approach to China and will continue to keep clients informed.

Background on the Section 301 Tariffs

In August 2017, the Trump Administration initiated a Section 301 investigation into China’s unfair policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.2 In March 2018, USTR issued its Section 301 Report3 and determined that China’s actions related to intellectual property were unreasonable or discriminatory and burdened or restricted U.S. commerce. After unproductive engagement with China, USTR imposed tariffs on China’s imports as a response to China’s unfair trade practices related to the forced transfer of American technology and intellectual property. USTR, however, established a process where companies could seek an exclusion from these tariffs and granted numerous exclusions for one year. USTR allowed companies to extend certain exclusions by written request. On December 31, 2020, all exclusions expired, except COVID pandemic-related exclusions.

____________________________________________________________

Lee Smith is an attorney and leader of Baker Donelson’s International Trade and National Security practice. He advises clients on matters involving export controls, customs compliance, trade remedy investigations, trade policy, market access, and free trade agreement interpretation. Smith can be reached at leesmith@bakerdonelson.com.

Robert J. Gardner is a public policy advisor in Baker Donelson’s Washington, D.C. office. He provides legislative and government relations guidance to clients on a variety of subjects, including tax, trade, appropriations, budget, infrastructure, and sanctions issues. Gardner may be reach at rgardner@bakerdonelson.com.

1 19 U.S.C. §§ 2411-2417; “Section 301” refers generally to Chapter 1 of Title III of the Trade Act of 1974.

2 Initiation of Section 301 Investigation; Hearing; and Request for Public Comments: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation, 82 Fed. Reg. 40, 213 (Aug. 24, 2017).

3 USTR, Findings Of The Investigation Into China’s Acts, Policies, And Practices Related To Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, And Innovation Under Section 301 Of The Trade Act Of 1974 (Mar. 22, 2018) (Section 301 IP Report).

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TECHNOLOGY LEADS TO MEET MODERN CHALLENGES: PART II

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For part two of our tech-focused feature, Global Trade identified industry players who confronted challenges with the help of technological partners. Our case studies are arranged by the categories Global Trade covers on the regular, from 3PLs and e-commerce to intermodal and air cargo logistics.

Please be aware that each category could have had many multiple case studies. Therefore, we do not want to leave the impression that only the best of the best are represented. We felt it better to spread the coverage around to different types of tech challenges and solutions. Do you have your own special story that could have been reported here? Please continue sharing it with us. Read part one here.

EDUCATION

Institution: Humber College of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Challenge: Preparing students for Industry 4.0  

Problem Solver: SEW-Eurodrive Canada of Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Solution: Industry 4.0 Laboratory

SEW-Eurodrive, which specializes in geared motors, frequency inverters, controls and software to individual drive solutions, has been headquartered in Bruchsal, Germany, since its founding in 1931 as Süddeutsche Elektromotorenwerke (SEW).

However, the company’s facilities around the world include the North American corporate offices, SEW-Eurodrive Inc. in Lyman, South Carolina, and SEW-Eurodrive Canada that is about a half hour from Toronto.

Humber College and SEW-Eurodrive are now at about the mid-point of a five-year partnership to prepare students for Industry 4.0 technologies, a critical aspect of advanced manufacturing, with training, applied research and future career opportunities. The centerpiece of the partnership with the college is the SEW-Eurodrive’s first-ever Industry 4.0 laboratory in North America. Focused on automated guided vehicles (AGVs), mobile worker assistants and connected automation equipment, the SEW-Eurodrive Industry 4.0 Live Laboratory is in Humber’s Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.

The lab opened in 2018 after a $4 million+ investment in SEW-Eurodrive technology, $125,000 to establish new scholarships and a commitment to have students intern at the company’s Canadian locations and be considered for permanent employment at those facilities after graduation. 

“At SEW-Eurodrive, we see great value in investing in Humber students,” says Anthony Peluso, SEW-Eurodrive Canada’s chief operating officer, “and providing the opportunity for students to develop the skills and gain the practical experience that today’s employers demand.”

INTERMODAL

Company: The Jaeger Bernburg Group of Bernburg, Germany

Challenge: Digitize its rail transport division fleet  

Problem Solver: Nexxiot AG of Zurich, Switzerland

Solution: IoT technology 

Jaeger Bernburg is actually a group of medium-sized companies that offers a wide range of different services in the construction industry, with a focus on transport infrastructure and civil engineering. They are primarily active in railroad construction and managing a large number of vehicles adapted to deliver related services.

“Our company is pursuing an ambitious digitalization strategy,” explains Christian Koch, Jaeger Bernburg’s local operations manager. “To achieve this, it was important for us to rely on a system that is maintenance-free as well as one that enables precise monitoring of the mileage of our fleet.”

The collaboration with Nexxiot, which began in April 2020, has relied on equipping the rolling assets with IoT technology to make the monitoring of mileage and other real-time data communication possible. The entire Jaeger Bernburg fleet is now equipped with Nexxiot sensor gateways called Globehoppers.

“The technology enables us to ensure that our vehicles are maintained in accordance with European regulations and that we always have an overview of the operating performance,” Koch says. “This allows us to optimize our processes and automate the collection and evaluation of data.

“We can deliver our vehicles to construction sites more efficiently because we know where they are at all times. This prevents unnecessary shunting and saves CO2 emissions. We also improved our support for our own employees, especially with regards to their working processes. We now provide them with critical information for improved transparency and fact-based decision-making in real time.”

Nexxiot, which was founded in 2015, now operates more than 122,000 Globehoppers globally, with connected assets having traveled a combined total of more than 2.5 billion miles. 

“Our goal is to achieve a five percent reduction in total global cargo CO2 emissions by shifting freight traffic from road to rail and optimizing routes,” says Nexxiot CEO Stefan Kalmund. “Enabled by our technology, every mile saved contributes towards this goal.” 

LAST-MILE

Company: Walmart of Bentonville, Arkansas

Challenge: Expand and improve deliveries between distribution centers and customers

Problem Solver: Flytrex of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

Solution: Drones

Two years after announcing a pilot-less program (get it?) focused on food delivery from a distribution center to a recreational area in North Carolina, Walmart recently revealed an expansion of drones over the Tar Heel State.

Flytrex drones had been soaring along fixed routes over unpopulated areas, but the Israeli company and the giant retailer recently received a Federal Aviation Administration permit to deliver to homes. The service is mainly for detached, single-family homes with front and back yards and within 3.5 miles of the Walmart distribution center in Fayetteville. 

Causey Aviation Unmanned actually operates the 6.6-pound drones that were manufactured by Flytrex and will hover about 65 feet up in the air before lowering to the ground with a tethered device.

When it comes to incorporating technology into the business, Walmart Senior VP, Customer Product, Tom Ward repeats the words of founder Sam Walton, who went to that Big Greeter Stand in the Sky in 1992: “I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been.” 

Ward claims, “It remains a guiding principle at Walmart to this day. From being an early pioneer of universal bar codes and electronic scanning cash registers to our work on autonomous vehicle delivery, we’re working to understand how these technologies can impact the future of our business and help us better serve our customers.”

Of course, Walmart is not alone in last-mile air space. Kroger has a drone delivery program flying the friendly skies of Centerville, Ohio, UPS has been making unmanned commercial flight deliveries for more than a year, and Amazon has famously been running pilotless pilot programs around the globe for some time. 

Despite the near space race, Ward urges caution. “We know that it will be some time before we see millions of packages delivered via drone,” he says. “That still feels like a bit of science fiction, but we’re at a point where we’re learning more and more about the technology that is available and how we can use it to make our customers’ lives easier.”

Somewhere, Sam Walton is smiling.

“At the end of the day,” Ward says, “it’s learnings from pilots such as this that will help shape the potential of drone delivery on a larger scale and, true to the vision of our founder, take Walmart beyond where we’ve been.”

MANUFACTURING

Company: Whirlpool Corp. of Benton Harbor, Michigan

Challenge: Overcoming a skilled labor shortage  

Problem Solver: Seegrid, Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

Solution: Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)

A Whirlpool manufacturing plant can crank out a new washing machine every 10 seconds. That can present challenges as humans, product materials and automation don’t always get along well with one another. Think heavy machinery whirring, forklifts whizzing by and, oh yeah, a global pandemic racing through your workforce.

Whirlpool managed to better the situation with the introduction years ago of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), which replaced the repetitive movement of items by workers from point A to point B. There are, however, drawbacks with AGVs: they possess minimal on-board intelligence and can only obey simple programming instructions. They are guided by wires, magnetic strips or sensors, which typically require extensive (and expensive) facility upgrades. While they can detect obstacles in front of them on their fixed routes, they cannot navigate around these obstacles, even if that obstacle is living and breathing. 

Though AGVs do what people did before them, manufacturing plants still require humans . . . from a labor pool that seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Hoping to get ahead of that challenge, Whirlpool set the spin cycle for “Seegrid,” which specializes in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that navigate via maps that their software constructs on-site or via pre-loaded facility drawings. 

The AMRs also utilize data from built-in sensors, cameras and laser scanners to detect their surroundings and chose the most efficient route to their destination. Working completely autonomously, an AMR will safely maneuver around forklifts, pallets and ol’ “Sleepy” Pete, choosing the best alternative route to avoid any obstacles. This optimizes productivity by ensuring that material flow stays on schedule.

“We see Seegrid as the evolution in AGVs,” says Jim Keppler, vice president, Integrated Supply Chain for Whirlpool’s North America region. Facilities under Keppler’s watch include a Clive, Iowa, manufacturing plant that now has more than 50 Seegrid units operating during three work shifts. The AMRs have created welcome changes for Clive’s 150 employees.

“For any manufacturer in the United States, there is an overall labor shortage, especially for skilled positions,” Keppler explains. “We have been able to take employees in our facilities that were doing more mundane work and move them to more value-added positions and let the Seegrids do the work.”

With Seegrids, whose technology is protected by more than 100 patents, intellectual property and proprietary know-how, Whirlpool has greatly reduced absenteeism, turnover and occupational injuries while increasing reliability, Keppler says.

“One of the key features of Seegrid is the configurability of the units,” the veep notes. “On one of my visits to Clive last year, they actually had me program one of the Seegrid units. And it’s so easy, even a guy like me can do it.”

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What Would a Post-Carbon Supply Chain Look Like?

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Businesses worldwide are pushing for more sustainable practices. As the threat of climate change has worsened, it’s become clear that industry as a whole must move away from carbon emission-generating practices. This movement has significant implications for supply chains.

Today’s supply chains are far from carbon-free. An organization’s supply chain often accounts for 90% of its greenhouse gas emissions when taking overall climate impacts into account. From diesel-powered trucks to natural gas-generated warehouse power, these networks rely heavily on fossil fuels.

It can be hard to imagine supply chains without these resources, but it’s not impossible. Here’s what a post-carbon supply chain would look like and how companies could achieve it.

Electric Vehicles

The most obvious difference between today’s supply chains and a post-carbon one is their vehicles. Transportation accounts for 21% of total global emissions, and freight constitutes a considerable portion of that figure. Almost all trucks that move freight today use fossil fuels, but post-carbon transport will be electric.

Electric trucks will likely be the first type of carbon-free vehicles to appear in supply chains. General Motors has already established goals to produce zero emissions, and electric road vehicles are increasingly common. Post-carbon supply chains will bring electrification to more than just trucks, though.

Ships and airplanes will also be electric. Their longer routes will require more efficiency, so they may rely on technologies like fuel cells or solar power instead of batteries. Regardless of the specifics, every vehicle in the post-carbon supply chain will be electric.

Green Power Sources

While vehicles may be the easiest culprit to pinpoint, they’re not the only source of emissions. Supply chains consume a considerable amount of energy, most of which comes from fossil fuels. In fact, if 125 multinational companies increased their supply chain renewable energy by 20%, they would save more than 1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions.

In a post-carbon supply chain, all energy would come from renewable sources. That would likely mean using various technologies, as sustainable power has varying effectiveness in different applications. Solar, wind and hydroelectric power would all play a part in the transition to zero-carbon operations.

A truly zero-carbon supply chain would also use renewables to generate power for its electric vehicles. Creating batteries or hydrogen for fuel cells requires energy, and this too must be green for supply chains to be truly sustainable.

Sustainable Sourcing

A more easily overlooked aspect of post-carbon supply chains is how sustainability plays into their corporate partnerships. A truly zero-emissions supply chain must ensure its suppliers are also carbon-free. Otherwise, it would still be investing in emissions-producing activity, albeit indirectly.

Industrial sectors like manufacturing are responsible for 29.6% of total emissions in the U.S. If a supply chain moved products from a company with such a significant carbon footprint, one could hardly consider it carbon-free. In a truly post-carbon supply chain, all connected sources are also zero emissions.

Ensuring these connections are sustainable requires a considerable amount of transparency. As such, post-carbon supply chains will require regular audits from involved parties to verify their sustainability. They’ll likely also employ technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) trackers and blockchains to keep operations transparent.

How Can the World Move Toward Post-Carbon Supply Chains?

These factors may seem like lofty goals right now. Today’s supply chains have a long way to go before they can say they’re truly carbon-free. Thankfully, however far-off these sustainability targets may seem, they are achievable. Companies can start acting now to move toward them.

Recognizing the business incentives for removing carbon from the supply chain can help encourage further action. According to one study, 84% of global consumers are more likely to make purchase decisions based on a company’s sustainability practices. Similarly, 61% are willing to wait for longer delivery times if they know it’s better for the environment.

Interest in sustainable supply chains will grow when more organizations realize these benefits. As this trend gains momentum, here are a few ways supply chains can start moving toward zero-carbon goals.

Improve Visibility

The first step in moving away from carbon is improving supply chain visibility. Companies can’t effectively become more sustainable if they don’t know the extent of their current unsustainable practices. Audits and studies can reveal where carbon emissions come from in a supply chain, guiding further action.

Organizations must also ensure their emissions monitoring is an ongoing process. Without continuous checking, they won’t be able to tell how different actions impact their overall goals. Periodic audits and implementing IoT sensors to track carbon emissions can ensure ongoing transparency.

In that spirit, supply chains should start improving visibility between partners. Asking for suppliers to offer proof of their sustainability initiatives will encourage broader action and help reduce emissions on all fronts.

Invest in Green Technologies

Some aspects of the post-carbon supply chain, like electric vehicles, aren’t applicable right now. While options may be limited today, more investment in these technologies will speed their development, making sustainability more viable quicker.

Many companies have already begun to invest in green technologies. Maserati has invested more than $867 million to refurbish its production hub to produce electric cars. As more money flows into these innovations, efficient, low-cost, carbon-free technologies will become available sooner, aiding a faster transition.

Green energy is a technology, not a resource. As such, it will only become cheaper and more efficient over time. Consequently, while some of these technologies may not be viable business choices now, they will be eventually, especially with more funding.

Collaborate

Since supply chains are so interconnected, it will take increased collaboration to push them away from carbon. Decarbonization is also a considerable undertaking. The transition will be far easier and faster if companies can work together toward a common goal.

Collaboration can mitigate the financial burden of decarbonization. Similarly, it can help some companies overcome any qualms they may have about the risks of going green. Climate action experts highlight that shared responsibility translates into reduced risk, at least in people’s perception of it.

In addition to collaborating with other related companies, supply chains can partner with environmental organizations. They can help show where improvements can be made, guiding more effective action.

Supply Chains Must Become More Sustainable

Supply chains are essential to virtually every industry, and they often produce some of the most emissions. As such, these operations must move away from fossil fuels as companies seek to become more sustainable.

The post-carbon supply chain seems like a lofty goal, but it’s attainable. When organizations realize these things are possible, they can start moving toward a better future.

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Spotlight on Supply Chain Management: Raising the Profile & Importance of the Supply Chain Manager

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Supply chain management has become a much more important business function in all companies since the pandemic began in February 2020. Let’s frame the issues which have made this executive and management change occur.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating to the performance of both domestic and global supply chains. The disruption, uncertainty, cost escalations, and delays which began in March 2020, continue into the fall of 2021.

The crisis caused by a disturbing and unanticipated imbalance between demand and supply in all world markets has resulted in unprecedented challenges facing all managers and operations personnel engaged in the supply chain, procurement, manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, transportation, customer service, import/export, and sales.

The challenges and their impact extend to all the support functions to supply chains: service providers, freight forwarders, carriers, 3PL’s, technology providers, consolidators, and distributors.

While the supply chain has generally had a “subordinated” posture in most companies, the Pandemic has now elevated this area of responsibility because the consequences of poor performance and failure are so impactful in the success of a business’s margin, profit, growth, and sustainability.

The importance of this area runs equally now to the importance of the supply chain manager, who may be known under the various “Titles” in the organization. Supply Chain, Procurement, Logistics, Warehousing & Distribution, Manufacturing, Materials Management, Demand Planning, etc.

With this “increase in importance”:

The disruption has impacted every company, executive, and business vertical. And we must also acknowledge the consequences to people and their families.

The impact to supply chains has moved up the ladder in every company all the way to the CEO, The Board, and the Shareholders.

In our consulting practice, where 90% of the time we deal with mid-level managers, in the last 20 months, my team and I have met with more CEOs than we have in the last ten years.

Supply Chain Managers and their colleagues have been forced due to the disorder in their business models, to work harder, work smarter and ultimately bring resources, experiences, and capabilities to the benefit of the disruptive impacts of the Pandemic.

Supply Chain Managers have been now tested in areas as never seen previously. Most companies, over time, have seen physical, weather-related geopolitical events impact their supply chains. Negative events happen all the time. While we have had some more notable micro-events in the supply chain in the last 10-15 years:

-The Recession of 2008/9

-Hurricane Sandy in 2012

-The 2011 Tsunami in Japan

-Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005

-Global Wildfires 2019

-Sichuan Earthquake in China in 2008

-South and Mid-West USA Tornados in 2013

-Mississippi River Flooding 2011

-Northeast Winter Storm in 2018

-The current Covid-19 Pandemic 2020-?

The impact on people, business, and the costs in billions and trillions from all these events is unthinkable. And the challenges that faced businesses and supply chain managers were dramatic.

However, this Pandemic has presented a unique set of circumstances:

-Every country and every person and business are impacted

-Personnel working from home has changed communications, team efforts, camaraderie and in some cases increased effectiveness and performance

-The tenure, now passing 20 months

-The uncertainty of planning out supply chain functions

-Demand Planning is almost impossible

-Lean Manufacturing and “Just in Time” Inventory Management Systems, have been retired

-All business models are being strained resulting in alternative and modified structures

-Managers and staff are working longer hours, becoming “burnt out” is a serious reality

-Hiring has been impaired

-Margins, profits, growth, and sustainability are all being challenged

With all these concerns having been identified as the “new reality” the good news is that many organizations’ talents, particularly in supply chain functions are finding ways to meet these challenges and maintaining their company’s business models to a necessary extent of successful operations.

Supply Chain Managers have become creative in their approach and along with companies like ours, Blue Tiger International, have found solutions to mitigate the impact of the Pandemic.

We have developed 14 Solutions, collaboratively with our supply chain managers. Some of these are:

The new roles and responsibilities of The Pandemic Supply Chain Manager require them to “think-out-of-the-box” and create approaches that were never thought of or utilized previously.

At Blue Tiger International, we become an extension of the supply chain manager’s resources and provide a business model to evaluate these options and apply them to the uniqueness of their business models and supply chains.

The four steps profiled above start with an overall assessment of the domestic and global supply chain. That review provides some solutions which must be tied into a financial evaluation that defines ROI.

This is followed by an operational review which determines what changes in the companies supply chain and business model require modification to meet the solution requirements. As an example, if it was assessed and evidenced ROI, the company choosing a Foreign Trade Zone as an option, it is likely changes would be made to the functions of compliance, security, product accountability, technology, and business process.

The last step is implementation, working collaboratively to make the solution work to the benefit of the business model.

This is all unfertile ground to the Supply Chain Executive. What we have observed is a significant “rise to the occasion” of many supply chain personnel, managers and executives to meet and successfully manage these required changes.

They are not necessarily eliminating the issues, but they are providing mitigating strategies all in the name of protecting market share, margins and sustainability.

Supply Chain Managers have become “Frontline Heroes” in the face of this Pandemic and deserve much credit and recognition for keeping supply chains functioning in the face of all these challenges.

This has and will continue to “raise the profile & importance” of Supply Chain Management in all companies’ business models. Additionally, senior management is recognizing their value to the organization, which has been a long-time coming.

________________________________________________________________

Thomas A. Cook is a 30 year seasoned veteran of global trade and Managing Director of Blue Tiger International, based in New York, LA and West Palm Beach, Florida.

The author of 19 books on international business, two best business sellers. Graduate of NYS Maritime Academy with an undergraduate and graduate degree in marine transportation and business management.

Tom has a worldwide presence through over 300 agents in every major city along with an array of transportation providers and solutions.

Tom works with a number of Associations providing “value add” to their membership services and enhancing their overall reach into global sourcing and in export sales management.

He can be reach at tomcook@bluetigerintl.com or 516-359-6232

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5 Major Trends Transforming mPOS Terminals Market Outlook Over 2021-2027

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Growing penetration of smartphones in conjunction with increased consumer proclivity towards UPI payment methods has led to the transformation of the payment landscape. The increasing card transactions across the globe are driving the adoption of mPOS payment solutions across various sectors including, hospitality, retail, healthcare, entertainment, etc. In March 2021, over 1.5 billion debit card transactions were recorded in the UK which represents an increase of 21.4% as compared to February 2021. A notable rise in the usage of card payments is expected to give a major impetus to mPOS terminals market over the upcoming years. The market size is projected to surpass USD 70 billion by 2027, cited the latest report by Global Market Insights Inc.

The industry growth is being further stimulated by the pivotal trends mentioned below:

Development of innovative solutions by market players

Various major players operating in the industry are inclined on developing advanced solutions that can suit the customer requirements and offer an enhanced experience. For instance, in 2021, Mastercard partnered with Global Payments Inc. and NMI to roll out the pilot of its first live Cloud Tap on Phone with Computer Engineering Group. This product is apparently Mastercard’s next-generation acceptance product, where the software is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

Increasing consumer preference for cloud-based mPOS

Cloud-based mPOS terminals are observing mounting demand especially among small stores and restaurants owing to their low cost of installation and maintenance. These terminals require an efficient internet connection for carrying out payment transactions which reduce the need for costly infrastructure. The cost-effectiveness and space constraints encourage small merchants to deploy cloud-based mPOS systems.

Growing popularity of contactless payments

The massive popularity of contactless payment transactions due to the expansion of e-commerce sector and the emerging trend of card-on-delivery has accelerated the deployment of mPOS terminals. Consumers are now preferring contactless payment methods owing to more convenience and safety while performing transactions. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has also expedited the trend of contactless payments globally. For instance, effective from May 2020, the France government increased the limit on contactless payment from USD 35 to USD 59, on the recommendation of the European Banking Authority (EBA).

Increasing adoption in restaurants

Restaurants are increasingly adopting the mPOS terminals as they intend to enhance the customers’ dining experience. A large number of cafes, restaurants, bars and pantries are now investing in innovative POS devices to facilitate faster transactions during peak hours. For instance, in 2020, Shift4 Payments launched a contactless QR code ordering solution for restaurants. According to the company, this system provides restaurants with a customized QR code that can be displayed on placemats, table tents, etc. The customers can scan the code using their phone to access the menu and place an order. The order is then sent directly to the restaurant’s POS system.

Burgeoning demand in the hospitality sector of North America

mPOS terminals industry is witnessing significant growth in North America owing to the increasing adoption of POS terminals in the regional hospitality sector. The thriving travel & tourism industry has impelled the construction of various luxury hotels and resorts in the region. Citing an instance, in 2021, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. announced the launch of a luxury hotel brand amid the recovery of the luxury sector from the pandemic. Several independent casinos, hotels, and resorts owners use mPOS solutions for providing the guests with a seamless experience and convenience while paying bills.

The industry will grow exponentially over the ensuing years as people around the world are showing great interest in more innovative and convenient ways of payments. This is indeed prompting numerous industrial sectors to invest in innovative POS solutions to meet customer demand. Increasing penetration of the internet and smartphones will further strengthen the mobile POS terminals industry landscape.

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Metal 3D Printing Alleviating Supply Chain Weaknesses Exposed by Pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in the global supply chain, and 3D printing is helping to fix the problem – transforming manufacturing in the process.

Supply chain disruptions were up 67 percent year-over-year in 2020, with those caused by the pandemic accounting for the most damage, according to an annual report from supply chain risk monitor Resilinc. A year and a half into this unprecedented period and we’re reaching an inflection point that’s reverberating across the world in the form of supply shortages and delays for key components. Companies’ earnings are being hit by supply chain delays.

So many businesses have found themselves uncomfortably exposed to supply chain risks outside of their control, which has delayed the release of products and led to soaring prices weighing heavily on their bottom lines. The pandemic has driven home the need for manufacturing solutions that can be more easily managed and scaled internally.

As metal 3D printing has gotten more ubiquitous and affordable, with companies capable of printing everything from medical tools to auto parts, there’s opportunity for businesses to lessen their reliance on the fragile global supply chain. By manufacturing components closer to home through additive manufacturing, companies can shift to a more localized, on-demand method of manufacturing. They can save time, money and return jobs from offshore sites.

Companies like 3DEO, a leader in mass production of metal 3D printed parts, introduced the Manufacturing Cloud and additive printing technologies enable OEMs to keep closer tabs on their production lines so that they can respond in real-time to fluctuations in demand, thereby circumventing the external risks affecting supply chains. By tweaking product development through an integrated platform, companies are able to quickly shift logistics to better address the rapidly evolving situation on the ground. This is particularly important when dealing with a product that has a lot of different metal components, which are oftentimes sourced from around the world.

Some companies in 2020 and 2021 found themselves having to delay entire product launches and shipments because of a single component caught in the clog of the supply chain. 3D printing technologies offered a way out, so they could get back to business faster with competitive pricing that differentiated them from the competition. 3DEO has scaled metal 3D printing to unprecedented levels, and even competes with traditional manufacturing like CNC machining and metal injection molding, even in high production volumes. The company shipped its millionth production part in July, saving many of its customers from these supply chain woes.

Companies that have started to make the shift to additive manufacturing in recent years are reporting huge time and money savings. Ford began testing large-scale 3D printing of certain car parts in 2017 and says rapid manufacturing has changed the way its engineers develop and test cars by reducing the burden of sourcing required components. What once took four months and $500,000 to produce and source a prototype, now takes just four days a few thousand dollars through 3D printing. “You can come up with a really optimized part at the end of the day,” says Paul Susalla, section supervisor of Rapid Manufacturing at Ford. “That’s all because of the speed with which we can produce the prototype parts without tooling.” These aren’t just irrelevant car parts, either; they’re quality. Some of Ford’s 3D-printed components have garnered hundreds of thousands of miles and crash-tested at 70 mph, which the automaker says has resulted in higher-quality vehicles at a more affordable price point.

Being able to produce components at home helps shift to a more on-demand mindset, which is crucial when responding to day-to-day fluctuations in needs. It also helps a company save money, both through reduced time requirements and costs for shipping and storage of spare and rare parts. Shifting from mass production in cheap, foreign places to local on-demand assembly hubs fueled by new metal 3D printing technologies, manufacturers can produce only what they need. Data from DHL shows that hundreds of millions of spare parts for products as diverse as cars to watches and x-ray machines are stuck in storage at any given time across the world. Some of these are rarely used and may never be needed, which is a costly burden that builds inefficiency into a company’s supply chain. Case studies estimate that the actual share of excess inventories can sometimes exceed 20%, with inventory supplied and stored with no guarantee it will ever move off the shelf. Additive manufacturing can help eliminate that risk by shifting to an as-needed production model, so that they’re only produced upon proof of demand.

The future of manufacturing is on-demand and real-time. For example, 3DEO’s Manufacturing Cloud allows real-time scaling to meet evolving needs. Companies can quickly scale up or wind down in real-time depending on normal fluctuations because they maintain total control of the additive manufacturing process, enabling them to adapt more efficiently thereby increasing competitive advantages with time and cost. Mass disruptions in the supply chain, such as those caused from the COVID-19 pandemic, directly correlate with price increases. Companies that bring component manufacturing in-house through 3D printing are able to produce items faster and more affordably, reducing those risks and undercutting competitors still handcuffed to traditional manufacturing. An MIT analysis suggests that 3D printing could reduce total supply chain costs by 50-90% as production moves from make-to-stock offshore facilities that require a heavy reliance on freight to make-on-demand facilities located closer to the final customer.

Additive manufacturing solutions represent a new kind of industrial revolution at a time when the supply chain’s weaknesses are directly imposing on company operations. Vast savings in the form of time and money are rewarded to those willing to shift to a 3D printing methodology. New efficiencies in the supply chain can be unlocked, minimizing risk factors like COVID-19.

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About the Author: Matt Sand received three bachelor’s degrees from Tulane University in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Political Science. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force as a Communications Officer. While stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Matt ran a team of 23 and was responsible for all core IT services. Matt then received his MBA from UCLA Anderson with a focus in entrepreneurship. Soon after graduating, he co-authored a book, The Agile Startup, with a professor of entrepreneurship. The book was published by Wiley & Sons in 2013. Since receiving his MBA, Matt has played a variety of roles across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He has founded or co-founded several startup companies, invested in early-stage companies at two Southern California-based venture funds, taught entrepreneurship courses at UCLA and LMU, and consulted with dozens of innovative companies of all sizes.

upskilling and reskilling
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Fight the Labor Shortage with Upskilling and Reskilling

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Warehouse and logistics employees were getting harder to find pre-pandemic, and the COVID-19 outbreak has increased that level of difficulty. Companies across all industries are having a difficult time finding, recruiting and retaining workers in an industry known for requiring long hours on your feet, some heavy lifting and high overall employee turnover.

“Competition for warehouse workers was already stiff before the pandemic. Stores were adding jobs at their warehouses and logistics networks as more customers ordered online,” CNN reports. When the global pandemic drove up ecommerce sales, it added more pressure on retailers to staff up at warehouses.

“Now, retailers are scrambling to add extra warehouse staff as they ramp up for the peak holiday season amid a record number of unfilled jobs,” CNN adds. Citing Korn Ferry statistics, the news outlet says 52% of retailers are facing “significant challenges” hiring warehouse employees right now, and that 33% of the companies surveyed are having an equally hard time staffing their stores.

Of course, at the opposite end of any major disruption lies new opportunities. In this case, companies have a chance to reverse the tide of the labor shortage through upskilling and reskilling. Are you up to the challenge? Read on to find out.

What are Upskilling and Reskilling?

The speed at which jobs are changing—sometimes due to automation and other times due to new business models—means that employees must constantly learn new skills in order to stay relevant and satisfied with their jobs. In many cases, traditional career paths or educational models aren’t enough to satisfy the rapidly evolving demands of the modern workplace. This is where upskilling and reskilling come in.

Upskilling is learning additional skills or enhancing existing abilities, often with the goal of advancement. A retail store clerk or office manager would upskill when transitioning to a management or corporate role, for example. Reskilling, on the other hand, is learning a new set of skills or training for a new role, often with the goal of transitioning to a new job or different industry. A truck driver who wants to become a computer programmer would need to reskill.

Updated Knowledge and Skillsets

Highlighting the value that upskilling and reskilling provide companies and their associates, Ohio News Time says more companies are investing in both because they help employees “perform better with the updated knowledge about their field and the latest developments in their industries.”

“Upskilling creates a positive impact on both organization and staff that can be witnessed through better performance and an increasing number of goals being achieved,” the publication points out. Upskilling and reskilling also help companies promote productivity and bring out the best in their associates; build more self-reliant, confident workforces; and help workers navigate through uncertainty.

“Uncertainty is a crucial reason for companies to invest in upskilling their employees,” Ohio News Time points out. “This includes all the technological advancements, new projects, and reorganizations.”

How Technology Supports Upskilling and Reskilling

With technology transforming every field and advancing the functionalities within those fields,  employees are learning how to leverage new advancements at work. The warehouse or distribution center (DC) is a perfect backdrop for seeing the value of upskilling and reskilling in action. Highly automated warehouses are much more attractive and require a more advanced skillset from the new generation of warehouse/supply chain employees.

For example, Cameron’s Coffee is a coffee roasting, packaging, and distribution company that receives its coffee beans from South America, stores them in Minnesota and ships them to hundreds of stores across the country. The company originally had a paper-only warehouse where individuals had to manually check and encode items.

Ready for a change, Cameron’s Coffee decided to update its warehouse and use a combination of the SOLOCHAIN WMS and MES that directly tied into its ERP. With the addition of the software coupled with iPads and handheld devices, the warehouse’s efficiency skyrocketed, sales increased by 50%, ecommerce grew by 200%, and the company was able to expand the size of its warehouse by 25%.

Equipped with their new software and iPads, the company’s employees were not only more efficient, but they were also happier in their jobs. The new technology increased their independence and reduced the amount of time required to complete tasks.

Time to Replace those Aging Systems

When you replace aging, manual warehouse systems with a modern WMS, you’ll not only get efficiency and productivity gains, but you’ll also experience an overall boost in employee morale. This is because the more you reduce the mental and physical strain on your employees the happier they will be.

Utilizing technologies that younger staff is comfortable with (e.g., iPads and touchscreen devices) helps them be more productive and safe at work. Implementing voice command technology in the DC, for instance, helps reduce mental strain and drives an increase in productivity.

5 Ways to Kick Off Your Upskilling Program

Over the next few years, upskilling and reskilling may become more important than ever before. According to the World Economic Forum’s most recent The Future of Jobs report, about 40% of employees’ core skills will change within the next five years. This means that 50% of all employees will have to upskill or reskill.

To companies that want to start their own in-house programs, AG5 suggests these five starting points:

1. Establish training programs for your current workforce.

2. Set up a mentorship scheme in which experienced veterans transfer still-needed skills to the younger generation.

3. Focus on creating versatile and multidisciplinary staff. Job rotation is a prime example of how to achieve this.

4. Add new tasks to existing job profiles so that staff have to learn new skills.

5. Hire specialists to fill gaps for which your current workforce has yet to be retrained.

With no end in sight to the current labor shortage, and with ecommerce once again expected to grow in the double digits in 2021, the time to start assessing your workforce and implementing upskilling/reskilling programs is now. Rather than waiting for your competitors to get a leg up on you, why not make some moves in this direction today?

Solutions exist today that can ensure any warehouse or distribution center operates at peak efficiency, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and more, software platforms can deliver a wide range of benefits that ultimately flow to the warehouse operator’s bottom line.

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission. 

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Data Center Power Market: Top Trends Propelling the Industry Demand Through 2026

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According to a recent study from market research firm Graphical Research, the global data center power market size is set to register significant growth during the forecast timeframe. With the proliferation of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), 5G, and cloud, the demand for data center power is likely to augment through the next five years. These advanced technologies are expected to be integrated into the systems used by manufacturing companies leading to growing pressure on the IT infrastructure.

The next-generation IT infrastructure is likely to adopt advanced power supply solutions that cope with these pressures. A growing inclination toward customized services is marking a new trend in the market, owing to which, service providers have been catering to the individual demands of the end-users.

The global data center demand has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, with tremendous consumption of networks due to work from home requirements and higher viewership of OTT platforms. The following top seven trends are expected to accelerate the global data center power market outlook through 2026:


Emphasis toward cutting down energy consumption in America

Data centers consume more than 416 terawatts of power annually, which represents nearly 3% of the total electricity generated on a global scale. As per the Energy Technologies Area or ETA, more than 73 billion kWh were consumed by the U.S. during 2020.

This has brought into focus the need to minimize energy consumption across the region, generating demand for advanced solutions across the data center power market in North America. Power management in data centers can be achieved through the improvement of the flow of power distribution across ventilation systems, environmental control, UPS systems, and lighting.

Spiraling demand for OTT services across Canada and the U.S.

The North American data center power industry forecast is registering a high growth owing to the rising number of intelligent power managing solutions in the region. The popularity of OTT services across the US and Canada has been soaring since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, with soaring subscriptions across platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney Hotstar, and Netflix.

Additionally, data-intensive businesses have been seeking to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and the PUE ratio, at the same time boosting power efficiency. With this aim in view, several industry participants have been developing smart UPS, intelligent PDUs, as well as battery monitoring equipment.

Digitalization across the North American healthcare industry

The data center power market applications in North America are segmented into healthcare, IT & telecom, BFSI, government, manufacturing, energy, and colocation end-users. Of these, the healthcare industry has been exhibiting a key impact on the market, with a higher need for data center services.

By 2026, the healthcare application segment will see considerable revenue generation, thanks to the growing utilization of digital data and higher emphasis on government standards. Government mandates, including the HIPAA standards, are being enforced in a more stringent manner to ensure higher productivity and efficiency of the healthcare industry.

Extensive adoption across European cabling infrastructure

The cabling infrastructure in European countries is slated for strong growth through the forecast timeline owing to the growing demand for reliable and effective equipment across data centers in the region. Cable management products and solutions are extensively utilized due to their simple, modular designs, and ease of installation. Leading manufacturers in the European data center power market are providing advanced cable management solutions with improved scalability, flexibility, and intelligence.

Growing requirement across Europe’s hyperscale data centers

Owing to the growing integration of advanced power storage devices across hyperscale data centers, the data center power industry share from the UPS segment accounted for a major portion of the total revenue share during 2019. Cloud service providers have particularly been expanding their presence throughout the region by developing mega data centers.

For example, in September 2020, Google LLC announced its plan to invest more than $3.3 billion towards the expansion of its data center footprint in Europe over the span of the next two years. Since hyperscale data centers involve the integration of a host of storage devices and servers, they require an uninterrupted power supply for ensuring continuous transmission and processing of data.

Growing demand for online banking across Asia

Asia Pacific has been witnessing a thriving BFSI sector seeking digital technologies, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contactless payments, POS terminals, mobile wallets, and online banking, in general, are growing increasingly popular in the last few years.

For instance, in Japan, more than 24 million individuals utilized their smartphones at POS terminals to make payments during 2019. The rising concerns over data center downtime are fueling Asia Pacific data center power market forecast.

Increased internet penetration across APAC

The demand for seamless online video streaming has been escalating synchronously with the expanding internet penetration across Asian countries. The high data consumption rate by Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Netflix users will translate to the focus toward the development of a robust data center infrastructure. T

The rapid adoption of 5G, IoT, AI, cloud computing, and other latest technologies across numerous data center construction projects is likely to power the APAC data center power market forecast.

ABB Group, Cisco Systems, Inc., Cummins, Inc., Legrand, Black Box Corporation, Vertiv Group Co., Siemens AG, and Cyber Power Systems, Inc. are some leading data center power solutions providers in the international market.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

European Pyrethrum and Peppermint Imports Keep Robust Growth

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IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘EU – Pyrethrum – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Last year, European pyrethrum and peppermint imports rose by +10.2% y-o-y to $989M. Germany remains the largest pyrethrum and peppermint importer in the EU, accounting for 37% of the total imports. The Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Poland, Spain and France ramped up the volume of purchases from abroad, while the supplies to Germany dropped slightly. The Netherlands emerged as the fastest-growing importer in 2020. The pyrethrum and peppermint import price in the EU grew by +9.2% y-o-y compared to the figures of 2019.

Pyrethrum and Peppermint Imports in the EU

In 2020, approx. 189K tonnes of pyrethrum and peppermint were imported in the EU; approximately equating the previous year’s figure. In value terms, pyrethrum and peppermint imports rose significantly by +10.2% y-o-y to $989M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

Germany was the key importing country with an import of about 70K tonnes, which accounted for 37% of total imports. It was distantly followed by Spain (25K tonnes), France (20K tonnes), the Netherlands (13K tonnes), Italy (12K tonnes) and Poland (12K tonnes), together mixing up a 43% share of the total imports. Austria (5.7K tonnes) occupied a relatively small share of total imports.

In 2020, average annual rates of growth with regard to pyrethrum and peppermint imports into Germany stood at -2.9%. At the same time, the Netherlands (+24.0%), Austria (+16.1%), Italy (+6.5%), Poland (+5.6%), Spain (+2.1%) and France (+1.9%) displayed positive paces of growth. The Netherlands emerged as the fastest-growing European importer in 2020.

In value terms, Germany ($352M) constitutes the largest market for imported pyrethrum and peppermint in the EU, comprising 36% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by France ($111M), with an 11% share of total imports. It was followed by Spain, with a 9.9% share.

In 2020, the pyrethrum and peppermint import price in the EU amounted to $5,233 per tonne, growing by +9.2% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest price was Austria ($6,786 per tonne), while Spain ($3,875 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by the Netherlands, while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform

rebate management
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Software

Why Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Fall Short with Rebate Management

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Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems allow companies to integrate many disparate elements of their business on a single centralized platform – from human resources to supply chain logistics to financial data. While this level of centralization can create operational efficiencies, the breadth of functionality offered by ERP systems also make them less effective when it comes to handling more specialized aspects of your business.

For example, when companies need to design, track, and execute rebate agreements, ERP systems come up short. This is because rebates can be highly complex and dynamic – to manage them productively, companies need purpose-built software that will help them maintain transparency internally and with trading partners, identify where rebate programs can be improved, and react to changes in markets and distribution dynamics. ERP systems allow companies to record the rebates they’re owed, but not much else.

Although many companies get by with the rudimentary rebate management tools offered by ERP systems, supported in parallel by spreadsheets and other off-system tracking, the usefulness of these tools breaks down with complex incentive-based rebate programs and an ever-increasing drive for rebates to stimulate the business growth they were implemented for in the first place. Dedicated rebate management systems, on the other hand, are designed around the needs of complex and dynamic rebate programs, helping companies build more sustainable relationships with one another by giving them a wider range of options and the resources they need to communicate and collaborate in real-time.

How to manage complexity

Global supply chains have never been more complex than they are today – they’re more interconnected, they serve larger and increasingly diverse markets, and they often require vast logistical infrastructure to function. A 2020 survey found that 91 percent of businesses say they “can’t stay ahead of their supply chain complexities.” As if this task wasn’t already difficult enough, COVID-19 threw the global economy into chaos overnight, snapping crucial links in supply chains, straining relationships between manufacturers and distributors, and forcing consumers to deal with delays and unpredictable cost fluctuations.

One of the reasons rebates exist is to account for uncertainty – from economic shocks to shifting consumer demands. They retroactively bring volume, pricing and payments into line with projections, incentivizing trading partners to continue investing in one another. The more contingencies rebates can account for, the easier it will be for companies to predict future conditions and adapt when they change. This is why there are hundreds of different types of rebate agreements – they can be based on seasonality, sales targets, marketing commitments, the performance of specific product lines, and a range of other variables.

Many rebate agreements also change annually (or more frequently) to spur growth and react to market changes as they arise. These are all reasons why these agreements can be surprisingly intricate, which makes ERP systems blunt instruments for managing them.

Increasing efficiency and agility

ERP systems are all about efficiency – by bringing a wide range of business processes (from workflow solutions to communication tools) together on a single platform, these systems are designed to consolidate information, facilitate cooperation, and streamline a company’s processes across the board. This sounds particularly attractive to company leaders in the supply chain sector, who are hyper-cognizant of any opportunity to increase efficiency. An EY survey found that 55 percent of companies expect digitization to improve operational supply chain efficiency (the second-most-cited option) over the next three years.

But can ERP systems really increase the efficiency and effectiveness of B2B rebate programs? By failing to account for a wide enough range of variables and providing little in the way of real-time flexibility, these systems aren’t the drivers of business growth that companies need. According to Gartner, 89 percent of supply chain professionals want to invest in agility. This is what specialized rebate management solutions provide by giving companies the chance to get creative with the negotiation and implementation of deals, adjust those deals as circumstances change, and track every stage of the process on a platform that was built specifically for handling rebates.

When companies rely on ERP systems that can’t accommodate their rebate needs, they’re forced to use other forms of documentation and manual logistics management, such as spreadsheets. This can lead to costly errors and wasted time – hardly the efficiency companies are after.

Building stronger relationships between supply chain partners

Rebates help companies forge stronger relationships by allowing them to negotiate deals that satisfy both parties and giving them the freedom to alter the provisions of those deals as circumstances dictate. Dedicated rebate management platforms provide mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability, more robust contract management, and the ability to manage hundreds of different types of rebates.

According to a recent Enable survey, more than one-third of companies say they still use spreadsheets to document, share, and sign off on deals. This doesn’t just lead to mistakes, backtracking, delays, and a series of other logistical problems – it can also be detrimental to relationships, as it requires partners to dig through scattered documents and search records that haven’t been properly systematized whenever a dispute or any other issue arises. ERP systems are typically transaction-centric, while rebate management systems make the process of creating, approving, and tracking deals an ongoing collaborative process with dedicated workflow and communication tools.

ERP systems have a clear role to play in helping companies become more productive, which is why rebate management solutions can be directly integrated with them. But rebate management is a highly specialized field – it requires digital tools that are specifically designed to manage complexity, improve supply chain flexibility, and build healthy and sustainable relationships between partners.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Andy James is the Director of Product Strategy at Enable, a cloud-based SaaS solution for B2B rebate management. The software is used by procurement and finance professionals in distribution, wholesale and manufacturing across over 50 industries so that they can have an easy, seamless solution to execute and track their full range of trading programs.