Japan, Germany Need Robots to Deal Aging Populations, eFulfillment Wars have Come to Pizza Delivery,MIT Breakthrough in Pasta Delivery, UPS Joint Venture to Power China to US Air Shipments MORE

General News Sales and operations planning (S&OP) Supply chain collaboration Supply chain management Aircraft lease Aircraft on ground All Japan Women''s Pro-Wrestling Automobile Autopilot BlackBerry Curve Bloomberg L.P. by John Westerveld. MORE

Automotive Supply Chain High Tech and Consumer Electronics Supply Chain Manufacturing Strategies Procurement and Sourcing Supply Chain Risk Management 2016 Japan earthquake impact on supply chains Honda supply chain Supply chain Matters blog Toyota supply chainThis week, our thoughts and prayers are with all those that have impacted by the recent significant earthquakes that have occurred in Italy, northwest of Rome. MORE

struck Tuesday off the coast of Fukushima prefecture in Japan, a tsunami warning for waves of up to 10 feet has been issued Tokyo - An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 7.3 MORE

Japan’s resiliency and its people’s willingness to do the hard work of recovery are certainly not in question. A look at the impact of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 on Japan’s GDP in that year and the year following are a testament to the nation’s ability to bounce back from disaster. Still, devastation of the magnitude seen in Japan this month may take longer to clean up. From Forbes: “Boeing (BA) faces new delays in the delivery of the Dreamliner. MORE

Pre-Business School:  Associate, Economic and Valuation Services, KPMG , Language Teacher, JET Program - Japan. Parker CMC Networking. About UCLA Parker CMC. MORE

Last week featured the news of the consolidation of Japan’s three largest shipping lines. Developments concerning the ocean container shipping industry are now moving at a faster and more discernable pace. This week adds even more perspective to an industry that is now facing even more structural and other changes. Shippers, transportation procurement teams and […]. MORE

Interesting Summary of the Global Industrial Robot Population, as Korea, Japan have High Robot Density and Low Unemployment MORE

We saw this type of issue over the past several years with the Japan earthquake / Tsunami in and with the Thailand floods. by John Westerveld Reason #5: Not having a supply chain risk management process. MORE

As we pen this Supply Chain Matters posting it is just past daybreak in Japan and early evening in the U.S. Automotive Supply Chain Procurement and Sourcing Supply Chain Disruption 2016 Japan earthquake impact on supply chains earthquake in Japan Supply chain Matters blogeastern time zone. Breaking news indicates that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has struck early Saturday on Kyushu Island, the same region hit by a 6.2 quake two days ago. The U.S. MORE

Population will Fall Dramatically by 2060, Researcher Says, as Demographics a Concern Almost Across the Globe MORE

Just before the Christmas holiday there was an announcement regarding an additional investment in LCD supplier Japan Display. of Japan is investing an additional $636 million in this supplier, consisting of both convertible bonds and a subordinated loan. Yet another financial infusion from government of Japan interests […]. Its largest shareholder, the government-backed Innovation Network Corp. MORE

It has been two days since our Supply Chain Matters breaking news alert published on Friday on the occurrence of multiple severe earthquakes impacting southern Japan. While the major focus continues toward tending to the injured and missing, along with the assessment of the impacted region’s major infrastructure, the supply chain disruption implications are indeed […]. MORE

That lesson was reaffirmed in the 2011 devastating earthquakes and tsunami that struck Japan when automotive and high tech manufacturers discovered later in the […]. In supply chain and procurement communities, there is somewhat of a known axiom that any lower-tiered component supplier, even smaller in scope, can cause a significant supply chain and production disruption. MORE

Amazon has Sights Set on Brick and Mortar Grocery Stores, UK Retailers and CPG Companies Tussle over Pricing, Population in Japan Headed to Scary Lows, Smithfield Foods Targets Manure to Reduce CO2 MORE

“The earthquakes that impacted southern Taiwan and Japan in the first half of the year, and the bankruptcy declaration of Hanjin Shipping caused considerable disruptions to global supply chains,” said Shahzaib Khan, director of EventWatch at Resilinc. MORE

Japan earthquakes impact global supply chain; despite economic slowdown, Africa still offers trade opportunities; climate change affects global supply chains MORE

by Melissa Clow Headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, Nissan manufactures vehicles in 20 countries around the world. Nissan offers products and services in more than 160 countries and areas worldwide. As a leading global automotive manufacturer, Nissan Motor Co. MORE

earthquake has struck Northern Japan off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. Supply Chain Disruption 2016 Northern Japan earthquake SupplyChain Matters blogBreaking news reports indicate that a magnitude 7.3 The US Geological Survey initially placed the earthquake at a magnitude of 7.3 but later downgraded it to 6.9. The quake reportedly occurred 37 kilometers (23 miles) east-southeast of Namie off the country’s east coast at […]. MORE

Santen is headquartered in Osaka, Japan and the company sells ophthalmic pharmaceutical products in approximately 60 countries. by Melissa Clow Santen Pharmaceuticals has begun a significant transformation of its global supply chain environment. MORE

On Friday of last week, Mitsubishi Materials Corp. disclosed that three of its supplier subsidiaries, Mitsubishi Cable, Mitsubishi Shindoh Co. and Mitsubishi Aluminum Co. had each tampered actual quality specifications related to components shipped to respective customers. Procurement and Sourcing Product Lifecycle Management Product Quality supplier quality Supply chain Matters blog MORE

This scenario played out for thousands of companies after the Japan earthquake, the Thailand floods and numerous other smaller scale disasters. Inventory management Supply chain risk management IBM Japan Natural disaster Risk management Supply chain Taiwan Thailand MORE

The monstrous 8.6-magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan spawned a tsunami that surged 4 kilometers inland, obliterating towns and farms across a huge swathe of the Japanese countryside. MORE

Stuff of Science Fiction May be Closer than We Think MORE

by Trevor Miles I’m on my way back from Tokyo where I attended our user conference, Kinexions Tokyo , in Japan, just 5 weeks after our Kinexions North America user conference in San Diego. MORE

MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), three of Japan’s largest container ship lines, have agreed to establish a new joint venture company by approximately July 2017. Global Transportation Global Forwarding Japan Shipping MORE

Industry and business media report that Japan’s three largest maritime shipping companies are indicating they intend to merge their container shipping operations to create the what would probably be the sixth-largest global player. This arrangement would involve Nippon Yusen K.K. NYK Line), Mitsui O.S.K. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. Each has agreed to form joint […]. MORE

There is another supplier quality conformance scandal involving a major Japan based supplier, Kobe Steel, and this time, the implications could involve multiple industry supply chains. Aerospace Supply Chain Automotive Supply Chain Industrial and diversified industry supply chain Procurement and Sourcing Product Quality Supplier Management Boeing Supply Chain Kobe Steel quality scandal Supply chain Matters blog Toyota supply chain MORE

This week, a prominent auto parts supplier experienced an explosion at one of its factories in central Japan, injuring four people. However, considering the Japan location and the major automotive OEM customer being […]. News of such an incident of supply chain disruption would not be considered unusual in these times of global-wide supply chain activities. Automotive Supply Chain Procurement and Sourcing Supply Chain Disruption Supply Chain Risk Management Aisin Seiki Co. MORE

Tiny Columbus, IN is an Export Titan, Layoffs Continue at Walmart, Says Funds Needed for eCommerce, Boeing Could See Major Savings from 3D Printing, Parcel Carriers Hiking Rates Big Time in Japan MORE

New Transport Mode Culd be Blimps, More Warnings about the Impact of Robots on Jobs, Wage Increases in Japan Remain Near Zero Despite Desparate Hopes for Inflation, Parcel Drone Finally Takes Flight in US MORE

This week Japan based Takata Corp., the company that has made unprecedented product recall headlines has filed for bankruptcy protection. What have we learned as a community- if anything? Automotive Supply Chain Procurement and Sourcing Product Lifecycle Management Product Quality Service Lifecycle Management Service-centered Supply Chains Supplier Management independent blog commenting on supply chain developments Supply chain Matters blog Takata Corp. product recalls MORE

There is another supplier quality conformance scandal involving a major Japan based supplier, Kobe Steel, and this time, the implications could involve multiple industry supply chains. Aerospace Supply Chain Automotive Supply Chain Industrial and diversified industry supply chain Procurement and Sourcing Product Quality Supplier Management Boeing Supply Chain Kobe Steel quality scandal Supply chain Matters blog Toyota supply chain MORE

To continue with this week’s theme of decisive supplier management, Supply Chain Matters must also comment on Honda’s decision to no longer source air bag inflators from troubled Japan based supplier Takata Corp. after a U.S. regulator accused the supplier of misleading regulators and withholding information that eventually led to one of the largest product […]. MORE

The recent earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador are a sad reminder of how deadly natural disasters can be. As of this morning, 41 people are confirmed dead in Kumamoto prefecture, the epicenter of Japan’s earthquakes, and 272 people have died in Ecuador , with thousands more injured and displaced from their homes. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and Ecuador, especially all of the victims and their families, as they deal with the aftermath of these tragic events. MORE

Thirteen months ago, Supply Chain Matters called reader attention to the news that Boeing had reached a preliminary agreement to extend partnerships with a group of key Japan based suppliers to provide major structural components of the newly planned 777x aircraft. MORE

magnitude earthquake struck the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. Featured Resilience emergency management Hurricane Katrina Japan earthquakes MIT CTL supply chain resilience Toyota lean Yossi SheffiOn April 14 2016 a 6.5 MORE

Last week’s earthquake and strong pre and post aftershocks in Japan have resulted in numerous disruptions for manufacturers. . Toyota announced on Sunday it would suspend production in stages at its plants across Japan. MORE

In 2011, the unthinkable occurred in Japan. A massive earthquake triggered a tsunami which, in turn, triggered a nuclear power plant meltdown, all of which combined to create a humanitarian disaster of epic scale. MORE

Japan and Euro Companies Dominate, but Can Software Prowess Get US Back in the Game MORE