Afternoon Coffee Content

The next incarnation of the Honda Civic sold in the UK will not be made there, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday in announcing that it will close its facility just west of London in 2021, the Associated Press reports. Brexit didn’t have a role in the decision, Honda said, but its president did say that the uncertainty around the UK leaving the European Union does create problems, the AP reports. And, in a bid for more cloud computing business, Google’s parent company on Tuesday announced a deal to buy the data migrating firm Alooma, Reuters reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

Apple has made some key hires and put new people in place to run divisions that the company hopes will diversify the business and make it less dependent on iPhone sales, The Wall Street Journal reports. Ivalua, a provider of spend management solutions, announced that in 2018 its overall revenue growth exceeded 50% and the company again maintained profitability. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

Congress on Thursday approved funding to keep the government running but the legislation didn’t include money for a wall, leading to the president on Friday to declare an emergency and seek funding on his own from other budgets — a move that will be challenged in court, the Associated Press reports. And negotiators in U.S.-China trade talks report that they’re slowing moving toward a broad agreement, The Wall Street Journal reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

In a surprising move, Amazon has pulled its plan to build another headquarters in New York, the Associated Press reports. And Airbus said Thursday that it will discontinue its A380, which at 800 seats was too large for a market that tends to prefer smaller planes, the Associated Press reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second government shutdown likely won’t happen at Friday’s deadline despite him not being happy with plans for border security, CNBC reports. The global payables automation provider Tipalti on Tuesday announced two new hires and that the California-based firm has surpassed $6.5 billion in annual transactions. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

Artificial intelligence research in the U.S. may get a boost from the White House, with the possibility of an executive order that would direct federal agencies to prioritize AI research and development, the Associated Press reports. Reuters reports that big palm oil users, like Nestle and Mondelez, are turning to more satellite technology to curb deforestation and boost sustainability efforts. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

Last fall’s liquidation of Toys R Us continued to be a disruption through the holiday season, as lower sales numbers from toy makers Mattel and Hasbro show, The Wall Street Journal reports. The troubled Sears department store chain was thrown a lifeline Thursday afternoon when a bankruptcy judge approved a plan to keep hundreds of stores open and thousands of people employed, the Chicago Tribune reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest procurement and supply chain news.

A trade meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely before the March deadline that ends the moratorium for raising tariffs, CNBC reports. The news rattled stock markets, CNBC reports. And the struggling department store J.C. Penney announced that it will stop selling major appliances and will sell furniture mostly online, The Wall Street Journal reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump hit on issues important to supply chain professionals but broke no news about any developments, Supply Chain Dive reports. The Wall Street Journal reports that many U.S. farmers are in trouble and that bankruptcy filings are up, according to federal data. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

Supply chain managers can be on the lookout for four issues that President Donald Trump may raise in his State of the Union address tonight, Supply Chain Dive reports. Amazon’s annual report filed last week shows for the first time that it added "transportation and logistics services" to its list of competitors, CNBC reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

The polar vortex that gripped the Midwest and disrupted supply chains for two days last week accounted for less than $1 billion in lost business — unlike the 2014 deep freeze that last for several days and cost $5 billion, says Planalytics in a Supply Chain Dive interview. And The State of the Union address will be held Tuesday night, with President Donald Trump speaking to the House and Senate members who must decide soon on how to avert another government shutdown, Bloomberg News reports. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.

Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, a major supplier to Apple, got over its cold feet about building a giant liquid-crystal display (LCD) factory in Wisconsin and announced Friday that it is going forward with the project, The Wall Street Journal reports. And for January, U.S. employers hired more people than any other month for almost a year, adding 304,000 jobs, according to government numbers released Friday, reports the Associated Press, which also details why unemployment may be up at the same time as jobs rising. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.