June 2009

New Orders for Manufactured Goods Up 0.7% in April

Economic Trends, Free, News, Research & Analytics, Subscriber Only / MDM Staff

New orders for manufactured goods in April, up two of the last three months, increased $2.5 billion or 0.7% to $344.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. This followed a 1.9% March decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.1%.

Shipments, down nine consecutive months, decreased $0.8 billion or 0.2% to $357.3 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 1.8% March decrease. Unfilled orders, down seven consecutive months, decreased $8.9 billion or 1.2% to $748.7 billion.

This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since November 2001-July 2002. This followed a 1.7% March decrease. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was …

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How Sysco Uses Technology to Manage Its Complex Supply Chain

Companies, Free, Grocery & Foodservice Distribution, Subscriber Only, Technology, Top Distributor Sectors / Lindsay Young

A recent article from Fortune Magazine looks at how foodservice distributor Sysco uses technology to manage its shipments internally and externally – schools, stadiums, assisted-living facilities, and more – if the venue serves food, chances are Sysco supplies it.

The distributor ships 21.5 million tons of produce, meats, prepared meals and other food-related products each year, per the article. It uses software, databases, scanning systems and robotics to do it efficiently.

As the article says:
"Sysco’s supply-chain logistics are especially complex because a single jar of caviar can’t be handled the same way as a box of frozen onion rings or an 80-pound tub of flour. That rules out most off-the-shelf inventory-management software. …

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Some Companies Taking Advantage of Growing Supply of Available Skilled Workers

Free, Human Resources in Wholesale Distribution, Operations, Subscriber Only / Lindsay Young

According to this article online at the Wall Street Journal, manufacturers in some areas of the country have seen a dramatic increase in the number of qualified applicants to fill skilled positions. Those companies that are still growing sales are taking advantage of this to "upgrade" their work force, so to speak.

It’s a somewhat positive note in an era of negative news; distributors who may be hiring or plan to in the near future to meet returned demand should make what some call a talent management plan to ensure they meet current and future needs based on strategic direction.

Easier said than done, perhaps, but a large number of highly skilled and experienced …

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The Difference Between Values and Expectations

Free, Sales & Marketing, Subscriber Only / Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier

It’s easy to confuse expectations with values. At least according to Jim Ambrose it is. Think about it this way. I have a restaurant I go to at lunch because it’s close. Lousy service; food’s OK. And I expect that, says the president of BranchManagerCEO.com. “The manager always asks me if they met our expectations today, and I say yeah, you certainly did. The food was lousy and the service was lousy; that’s what I expect. But it’s close so I keep going back.”

Ambrose values the proximity and is willing to accept the mediocrity of everything else because of it. However, if a restaurant were to open up in the same area with better food and better service, he …

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June 2009

New Orders for Manufactured Goods Up 0.7% in April

How Sysco Uses Technology to Manage Its Complex Supply Chain

Some Companies Taking Advantage of Growing Supply of Available Skilled Workers

The Difference Between Values and Expectations

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