Transformation & Innovation

Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning/ Robotics

Executive Perspective: President of Michigan-based Assn. for Advancing Automation says labor shortage has accelerated adoption of robots in warehousing, logistics industries, including at FedEx; 39,708 robotics units were sold in North America last year
Commercial Appeal (04/18)

JPMorgan: Speeding up immigration of people based on work skills and demand could fix US labor shortage, but this isn't easy to accomplish politically; companies will need to adapt to labor shortage, such as using robots and automation, or risk failing
Business Insider (04/18)

Seattle-based supply chain software startup Shipium raises industry record of US$27.5M in series A funding round; co-founded by Amazon employee, Shipium uses machine learning to automate routing decisions to pick cheapest, fastest shipping method
FreightWaves Inc. (04/15)

Charlotte Tilbury launches 3D volumetric avatar of its founder that allows Tilbury to share her expertise with customers virtually via mobile devices; AR innovation guides shoppers through 3D products, livestream masterclasses, Shop with Friends function
Global Cosmetics News (04/15)

Chili's expanding its testing the hosting, toting and singing Rita the Robot to 51 more restaurants; the robot's functions include hosting, running food and helping clear tables
Nation's Restaurant News (04/15)

Augmented/Virtual Reality/Visualization

Perfect Corp. report on 2022 global hair color trends reveals new consumer focus on hair health, rising demand for natural colors, with virtual try-ons increasing for brunette and silver tones; AR to play bigger role as brands switch to digital solutions
Business Wire (04/13)

Unilever hair-care brand Living Proof releases AI Hair Quiz, developed with Revieve; consumers input concerns and upload a selfie that is analyzed with patented mobile diagnostics to determine hair condition, suggest a hair-care and styling routine
Happi (04/11)

LVMH sued for allegedly violating Illinois biometric privacy laws by collecting facial scans of customers who use Virtual Try-On tool on Louis Vuitton's website; lawsuit claims site fails to ask permission for data or to explain why it is being used
Business Insider (04/11)

Pernod Ricard USA announces launch of Absolut.Land, expanding its Absolut vodka brand into the metaverse in celebration of the brand's 10th anniversary as the official vodka of the Coachella music festival
PR Newswire (04/11)

Nextech AR and Bothwell Cheese launch AR human hologram smart packaging consumer experience; Bothwell Cheese uses Nextech’s ARitize CPG technology, which lets brands create interactive experiences with smart packaging via QR codes
Business Wire (04/08)

Digitalization

Saica Group's investment in Voith's Papermaking 4.0 digitalization package for 430,000 tons/year PM9 at El Burgo paper mill in Spain reduced consumption of starch without negatively affecting strength of containerboard, significantly reduced product cost
Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA (04/14)

Blockchain/ Distributed Ledger

Houston nonprofit Tree Peace enters NFT space to raise money for tree planting, carbon credits; carbon-neutral NFT project on Worldwide Asset eXchange blockchain offers businesses certified carbon credits to offset carbon footprint while planting saplings
Newswire.com  (04/06)

Security Matters implements its tracing technology to authenticate recycled plastic content in packaging, reducing need for human auditing; company's patented technology utilizes chemistry-based marking to track any material
PR Newswire (04/05)

Cryptocurrency

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says retail business is 'not close' to adding cryptocurrency as a payment option, CNBC reports; however, he says it might be possible to sell NFTs on the platform
Reuters (04/14)

Hygiene products manufacturer Zaimella USA will now offer 10% discount on its baby diapers when paid with Bitcoin, effective May 1; company sees virtual currencies and blockchain technologies as ways to eliminate wasteful steps and transaction costs
PR Newswire (04/12)

Phone app ZeLoop rewards users with cryptocurrency for completing Eco Missions, wherein plastic waste is deposited at 5,000 bins across 49 countries for recycling; company says app has recovered 1 million PET bottles, can be used for ride-sharing services
Packaging Digest / Reed Business Info (04/07)

San Francisco-based online checkout service company Bolt to buy cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Wyre to enable digital-currency payments on its platform; Bolt serves retailers such as Forever 21, Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand and is valued at US$11B
Reuters (04/07)

Cloud Computing

Zero-day vulnerability Spring4Shell found in VMware's Java Web application development framework Spring; the vulnerability could be exploited remotely if a Spring application is deployed to an Apache Tomcat server using a common configuration
Urgent Communications (04/05)

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Advisory warns of growing IoT cybersecurity risks for certain industrial control systems and devices--Schneider Electric programmable logic controllers, OMRON Sysmac NEX PLCs and Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture servers
Urgent Communications (04/18)

Union Pacific adds Building Responsible Foundations pillar to ESG strategy after survey showed health, safety and well-being as most important issues to stakeholders; pillar also encompasses business ethics and conduct, cybersecurity and risk management
Union Pacific Corp. (04/14)

Canon publishes cybersecurity guidelines to help customers protect important information on their printers, multifunction devices; guide is important for companies doing business with government agencies, defines Advanced Persistent Threat countermeasures
Canon Inc. (04/11)

AI-powered ExtraHop to offer a complimentary Shields Up assessment to help enterprises check security controls in light of possible Russian cyberattacks; 64% of organizations say that half or more of attacks are due to their own outdated IT security
Business Wire (04/06)

A record 71% of organizations were impacted by ransomware attacks last year, up from 55% in 2017, and, of those impacted, 63% paid a ransom, up from 39%; 84% say they do not have enough skilled IT security personnel to protect against attacks: CyberEdge
Business Wire (04/06)

Process Improvement/Operational Design

Metsa Fibre deployed 5S work methodology to improve efficiency at all pulp mills, sawmills in 2021, will focus this year on obtaining reliable, group-wide information about improvements achieved via 5S; method should help reduce production disturbances
Metsa Group (04/14)

China's Bohui Paper sees opportunities in shift away from plastic, plans to develop new products, enhance operational efficiency; company credits 17-year collaboration with Metsa Fibre for inspiring its own pre-sale and post-sale service service practices
Metsa Group (04/07)

Efficiency

Healthy.io and in-home care agency Innovive partner to offer smartphone-based wound management tool to about 700 Innovive nurses for tracking, treating chronic wounds; nurses say tool offers 85% faster documentation, 67% reduction in follow-up visit time
PR Newswire (04/15)

Sweden-based bakery Liba Bröd invests in an automated tray forming machine from Stora Enso, resulting in corrugated board trays that use almost 20% less material; the machine offers a safer closed system for operators to work, minimizes changeover time
Stora Enso Oyj (04/11)

BillerudKorsnas publishes 2021 annual and sustainability report; company anticipates significantly higher input costs in 2022, and it will gradually increase volumes and focus on mix, efficiencies, price management to counteract cost inflation
Cision Ltd. (04/08)

Manufacturing/Production

Stellantis partners with Qualcomm to use Snapdragon Digital Chassis advancements for in-car communication, infotainment systems for STLA SmartCockpit; deployment planned for 2024, involves 14 Stellantis vehicle brands, starting with Maserati
Stellantis NV (04/15)

Huhtamaki initiates process to divest operations in Russia, says the Ukraine situation and long-term outlook in Russia will prevent realization of its growth strategy, ambitions in the country; company has four manufacturing units in Russia
GlobeNewswire Europe (04/14)

British Glass warns that UK government's energy security strategy doesn't go far enough to protect the sector from foreign rivals as it battles sky-high costs, calls for UK ministers to 'temporarily lighten' the burden on businesses in terms of carbon tax
Daily Telegraph (04/11)

BMW to use cast aluminum wheels made with 100% green power for BMW, MINI vehicles by 2024, reducing CO2 emissions by about 500,000 tons annually; about 95% of the 10 million alloy wheels BMW procures each year made from cast aluminum
BMW AG (04/11)

Daimler invests US$4M in Garcia, Mexico, bus chassis, powerplant factory to make 300 bus parts in effort to develop local network of parts suppliers; Damlier expects strategy will increase bus sales by 20% in 2022
CE Noticias Financieras (04/08)

Supply Chain Management

Lexmark is recognized as winner in 2022 Manufacturing Leadership Awards for outstanding achievements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital supply chains, collaborative ecosystems; in AI, company automated visual inspection system
PR Newswire (04/08)

Logistics/Transportation Management

DHL Supply Chain offers AI solution OptiCarton to commercial customers to optimize filling volume of boxes, order splitting to save up to 50% in shipment space and up to 35% on shipping costs; 24% of e-commerce package volume is empty space, says company
ENP Newswire (04/15)

AI-based logistics planner Optimal Dynamics closed US$33M in Series B funding, led by the Westly Group, which will be used to accelerate hiring in critical areas; solution aims to help create real-time adaptive decision-making and resilient networks
GlobeNewswire (04/15)

Logistics, Shipping & Delivery

Singapore-based Ocean Network Express to work with Google Cloud to establish an AI Center of Excellence to transform core operations, strengthen customer engagement and improve employee experience; ONE boasts world's sixth-largest container shipping fleet
ICT Monitor Worldwide (04/06)

Reuse/Next Use/Upcycling/Closed Loop

Republic Services, Waste Management are both vertically integrating their operations with advanced recycling for plastics; more investments in plastics recycling should be expected as technology improves, demand increases for PCR
Waste Dive (04/15)