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3 ways to make your supply chain more resilient

Gail Short Distribution & Warehousing

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the strength of supply chains around the world this year. In the United States, the outbreak led to a spike in consumer demand for items like hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol and other essentials, and retailers struggled to keep them on the shelves. Today, as the pandemic rages on, experts say now is a good time for companies to determine how they can build more resilient global supply chains going forward.

Dream and plan with travel lists

Cindy Belt Recreation & Leisure

Whether you are still traveling or parked somewhere on a coronavirus timeout, you can dream and plan your next trip. I like having lists of places to visit. Some can be travel destinations while others may just be quick stops along the way that you don’t want to miss. Here are some ideas.

Travel insurance gets the COVID-19 test

Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

As travel looks to ramp up somehow in this precarious time, travel insurance concerns and interest have skyrocketed, and coverage is not always clear. This scene, for instance, is a familiar one of late and could happen to you. Say, you booked a trip — an expensive trip — It involved a cruise around Asia, a private tour in Japan and some upper-class seats on international flights. That was in January. Then February and March happened, and everything changed.

Flying the friendly skies with a little help from HEPA filters

Lark Gould Transportation Technology & Automotive

Some might say that flying has never been cleaner. Airlines, airports and aircraft manufacturers are going to extraordinary lengths to get passengers flying again and that means upping the confidence factor in taking to the skies while the coronavirus continues to rage on the ground. Research this month from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that just 45% of travelers are willing to return to airports at this time. The air on a plane remains one of the top concerns for flyers.

Future vision for security mapped out by Airports Council International

Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & Automotive

Airports Council International (ACI) recently unveiled its vision for airport security over the next two decades, which sets to map out how this important aspect of travel will adapt both in a post-COVID-19 era and as new technology becomes available. Published on June 30, Smart Security Vision 2040 "sets the foundation for achieving a seamless airport security screening experience in a post-COVID-19 operational reality."

US employers add 4.8 million jobs in June; jobless rate drops to 11.1%

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Employers added 4.8 million nonfarm jobs in June after hiring 2.5 million workers in May, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. June’s unemployment rate fell to 11.1% versus May’s 13.3%. Improvement in the labor market for the second straight month was due to a partial resuming of economic activity after nationwide business closures, notably in the hospitality and leisure sectors in March and April, to slow the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. That shutdown led to the loss of 22.2 million jobs.

Infographic: How technology can help the economy recover

Brian Wallace Science & Technology

Technology, both as a tool and as an economic sector, has kept the economy going during the pandemic, and it will also figure heavily into the economic recovery. This infographic outlines the state of the economy as well as how technology has aided in economic recoveries in the past.

Small businesses rush for technological answers, advances during pandemic

Kevin Reynolds Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The coronavirus has upended the way small businesses operate for months. One of the longest-lasting impacts of the virus, though, will be how fast and how many small businesses have been forced into investing into technology. With contactless pickup, new payment methods, and cleaning services all far more important than they were at the start of the year, a common denominator in every industry is the need for innovation.

Singapore Changi puts construction plans on hold as it studies aviation’s…

Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & Automotive

Plans for the construction of a new terminal at Singapore Changi Airport have been put on hold as the airport sets aside time to study the future of aviation and whether the future of aviation will justify the work. The new Terminal 5 at Changi had been planned for an area to the east of the existing terminals and would be the biggest at the airport with capacity for 50 million passengers per year. With an anticipated opening in the early 2030s, Changi Airport Group had expected to be going to tender soon, ready for work to commence on the important structure.

What’s next for e-bikes? An inflatable, portable form of transportation

Dave G. Houser Transportation Technology & Automotive

Brilliant minds in the transportation industry worldwide are pulling out all the stops in an effort to design and develop improved personal mobility devices and systems. The trend towards communal sidewalk-based personal mobility systems such as shared e-bikes and scooters piqued the interest of engineering students at the University of Tokyo — and they took the idea and ran with it. Looking at possible ways to improve the world of urban sidewalk mobility, the students developed a working prototype for an inflatable e-bike/scooter. You read that correctly — a blow-up e-bike.

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