All Manufacturing Articles
  • COVID-19 accelerated change. How do you stay ahead moving forward?

    Philip Burns and William Putsis Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst that accelerated change in almost every industry. What used to take some companies five years to accomplish remarkably took them only five months during the pandemic. From at-home grocery retailing to working at home virtually, companies digitized their businesses and changed how they delivered services at unprecedented rates. While some companies were better positioned to deal with the challenges the pandemic presented, others struggled. Given this, consider three relevant questions for all business leaders in the context of their own organization and industry.

  • What’s the BIG Idea? Episode 1: Sydney Guerrero on business development…

    Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    In this episode of What’s the BIG Idea? we visit with Sydney Guerrero, Vice President of Busines Development for Orion Innovation, an $850 million global IT leader in digital transformation and product development services.

  • Infographic: Why you need diversity in the supply chain

    Brian Wallace Distribution & Warehousing

    Why does the supply chain need to be diverse, you ask? There are underserved populations and businesses that are minority-owned who are not getting a seat at the table. According to Avinandan Mukherjee, dean of the Lewis College of Business at Marshall University: "Small companies are at the mercy of larger retail buyers and suppliers sometimes, and they get less focus and attention, especially when production is lower at the other end. So bargaining power definitely creates some risk for smaller companies." Also, large corporations are often missing the mark for their minority suppliers. Diversity needs to be less talk and more action.

  • 6 tips for financing heavy equipment for your construction business

    Abby Drexler Construction & Building Materials

    Heavy equipment financing permits you to get a bank loan or lease to buy construction equipment for your business. This makes it more convenient to have equipment without purchasing the equipment outright. The construction equipment that is bought with the loan acts as collateral for the loan. Although you may have the funds to purchase the construction equipment you need, it is best to opt for heavy construction equipment financing. This will allow you to devote your cash flow to more important networks. This article features six tips for financing heavy equipment for your construction business.

  • 10 ways to make a positive first impression at a new job

    Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    First impressions are lasting impressions. Every new employee is under intense scrutiny as hiring managers and HR attempt to evaluate each new hire’s potential. Impressing in a series of interviews and during the selection process was only the preliminaries. Every new employee starts out at exactly the same place in the job, since there is no performance track record to view, no known bad habits, and an equal opportunity to excel. Here are 10 ways to stand out and make a great first impression during your onboarding period.

  • The delicate balance of supply and demand for COVID-19 vaccines

    Bambi Majumdar Medical & Allied Healthcare

    President Joe Biden rolled out strategies to combat and control the coronavirus pandemic on his first day in the Oval Office. A national vaccination campaign aims to administer 100 million shots to cover 50 million Americans in his first 100 days in office. Led by Dr. Anthony Fauci and other medical experts, pandemic control actions will ramp up, such as travel restrictions, mandatory mask rules, increased testing, and more personal protective equipment. Along with orders to boost supplies for vaccination, the team will also focus on developing therapeutics to treat COVID-19.

  • CES 2021: The year of staying home with gadgets

    Lark Gould Science & Technology

    As CES 2021 rolled out, it was not in Las Vegas. In fact, it was not anywhere in particular this year after more than a half-century of taking over the neon gaming mecca for four days of immersion in a veritable ocean of newfangled stuff and portentous technology. It was online-only and navigated through a tornado of tech talks and virtual kiosks. Still, there was news, analysis and plenty to talk about this year as the coronavirus continues to rage and a new administration takes over and changes some key commerce and trade policies.

  • Good news in your job search: Harry, Larry, and the bear

    Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    What is North America’s No. 1 domestic issue of most concern to the average person? Politics? Coronavirus? Who will win Super Bowl LV? Nope! The thing that concerns most people is still jobs. Whether you are 18 or 80, you’ve likely never seen it more difficult to find a great job in your field of interest in your lifetime. Lockdowns in various regions of the country, overseas competition, and rapidly changing methods employers use to fill jobs have all made it difficult for good people to find good jobs.

  • Survey: Firms fight to operate during COVID-19

    Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

    The breadth and depth of the pandemic’s effects on private businesses has surfaced in new government data collected from July 20 through Sept. 30, 2020. In these numbers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conveys how businesses big and small operated. Spoiler alert: the BLS data on employment, wages, job openings and terminations, employer-provided benefits, and safety and health paints a tough picture of firms fighting to stay afloat. Nationally, 52% of surveyed businesses, or 4.4 million, told their workers to avoid work (paid or not) for some time.

  • Manufacturing sector shows growth late in 2020

    Bambi Majumdar Manufacturing

    IHS Markit recently released an analysis showing that U.S. manufacturing and services activity is expanding. Following the U.S. presidential election, the first pictures of the state of the U.S. economy look promising. The welcome news of an imminent and successful COVID-19 vaccine has added to the optimistic outlook for the year ahead. The survey showed that the manufacturing sector is showing its quickest pickup since September 2014. It's a rosy and hopeful outlook, though IHS' data does not match every survey on the subject.