4 DC VELOCITY NOVEMBER 2013 www.dcvelocity.com
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Demands on supply chain managers are constantly changing, making it a challenge for practitioners to stay on top of
their game. Continuing education can help, and toward that
end, longtime supply chain gurus and DC VELOCITY
columnists Ken Ackerman and Art van Bodegraven have launched
the Discovery Executive Services Supply Chain Series—a
group of workshops to be held in Columbus, Ohio.
Ackerman and van Bodegraven have a reputation for
telling it straight. So workshop attendees can expect to get
practical advice rooted in real-world experience—all delivered with their trademark dry humor.
The 2014 lineup includes the following sessions:
“Enterprise Success and Supply Chain Strategies” (Jan.
23–24), “Essentials of Supply Chain Management—The
Basics” (March 10–11 and Sept. 22–23), “Distribution
Center Location, Planning, and Operations” (May 14–15),
and “Strategic Sourcing and Procurement” (July 24–25).
For details, contact Cathy Avenido at (614) 488-3165 or
cathy@warehousing-forum.com. ;
Take a class with DCV’s dynamic duo
Here’s our monthly roundup of community service projects
and charitable works performed by companies in the logistics and material handling sectors:
▪ Lift truck maker Clark Material
Handling Co. and its employees
were collectively recognized as the
God’s Pantry 2013 Distribution
Center Corporate Volunteer of the
Year. The award acknowledges Clark
employees for regularly volunteering at the food bank sorting donations, repacking food, and participating in backpack programs to fight hunger.
▪ The Trinity Foundation, in collaboration with Trinity
Logistics, raised over $6,500 for Rachel’s Challenge by hosting its fourth annual Touch-A-Truck event in Seaford, Del.
Rachel’s Challenge was created to replace acts of violence,
bullying, and negativity with acts of respect, kindness, and
compassion. It is named in memory of Rachel Scott, the first
victim of the Columbine school shooting in 1999.
▪ The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of UPS,
marked the start of the company’s 10th annual Global
Volunteer Month on Oct. 1 by pledging to plant another 1
million trees around the world. The foundation also awarded $2.3 million in grants to support environmental programs and forestry-focused initiatives to the following
organizations: Earth Day Network, Keep America Beautiful
Inc., National Arbor Day Foundation, The Nature
Conservancy, and World Resources Institute. ;
Good deeds
Ten emerging trends will affect the design and
development of packaging in the supply chain
worldwide, according to Brian Wagner of
Packaging Technology Integrated Solutions.
Wagner outlined those trends at the 2013 Material
Handling and Logistics Conference sponsored by
Dematic in Park City, Utah:
1. Emerging markets. With 70 percent of world
growth expected to come from emerging markets,
companies will have to optimize package designs
for non-Western countries.
2. Big science. Advances in scientific knowledge
will lead to new substrates. Nanotechnology, for
example, will allow packagers to simplify material,
going from seven to possibly two layers to achieve
the same package functionality.
3. Demanding consumers. Packaging will have to
provide more details to consumers who use smartphones to obtain product information. Conductive
inks will be used to print information that can be
relayed via radio signal to a smartphone.
4. Environmental concerns. The continuing
emphasis on sustainability is pushing companies to
develop new substrates for packaging, such as bio-based material or alternatives to petroleum-based
materials.
5. More legislative oversight. Governments at all
levels are enacting packaging regulations, creating a
complex web of rules covering everything from
labeling to disposal.
6. Developments in neuroscience. Neuroscientific
insights into personal behavior will allow packaging to be targeted more precisely to consumers’
needs.
7. A riskier world. Increasing product and safety
risk puts pressure on packaging to ensure safe food,
high-integrity materials, and tamperproof goods.
8. New retail models. Because products ordered
online vary in size and shape, Internet retailers will
be challenged to find standard, common sizes for
their packages.
9. The rise of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and
China) countries. The growing middle class in
those countries will lead to more worldwide competition for the resources used to make packaging.
10. Innovative designs. Packagers will develop
special designs whose look and shape will provide
a competitive advantage for their brands. ;
10 global trends that are
shaping packaging
