Leaders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico —nations belonging to the North American Free Trade Agreement — will meet today in Ottawa, Canada, where they plan to discuss trade and the recent Brexit vote. And, Toyota is recalling 1.43 million cars for defective airbags and 2.87 million cars for faulty fuel emission controls. Afternoon Coffee brings you the latest in procurement and supply chain news.
A recent study reports that women make better supply chain auditors. In other news, Tesla hasn't decided where its new lithium-ion battery factory will be but says it will source the parts entirely in North America, and Comcast argues the merger with Time Warner Cable will benefit consumers.
In today's aggregate of industry news, Aaron Levie of Box invests in cloud-based supply chain management, Vestmark BPO is selected by Cambiar to support growth of managed business accounts and NASA reports a mild-level solar flare was emitted by the sun.
How tech-enabled BPO buyers have been successful, what expenditures supply chain executives plan to increase and a report on climate change that's being questioned.
Afternoon Coffee brings you some news close to its heart. The coffee business is nothing new in Uganda, a country producing 3.4 million bags of coffee beans each year. However, the beans are usually exported raw to the West, where they are roasted and packed and processed. Ugandan businessman Andrew Rugasira seeks to bring the refining process back to Uganda, with the corresponding profits split 50-50 with his network of thousands of local farmers.
What would your grocery store produce section look like if bees going extinct? (It's pretty scary). Also, is there really a massive difference between buying, procuring, purchasing, and sourcing? What's going on with the automotive supply chain? And finally, what's it like to raise grass-fed versus corn-fed beef? Find out in today's edition of Afternoon Coffee.
Two collectors have alleged that Charlie Trotter sold them a counterfeit bottle of wine for $46K, Corona is doing some pretty fun advertising stuff right now, Beechcraft lost a $431 million contract with the USAF to Brazil-based Embraer, US industrial output stayed slow in May, and we end with some Father's Day fun.
Some of the most fashionable new boutiques in Paris are devoted to electronic cigarettes, which, while not necessarily safer than your drugstore pack, come in flavors like peach and pina colada-- and therein lies all the difference. New York's Canal Street might be forced by law to become respectable soon. And another sign of changing times? Apple may come out with larger iPhones, as well as colorful models. The modern life, after all, is measured out in Apple iPhone models.
IKEA tackles sustainability, vowing to double the amount of sustainable materials in their supply chain by 2020. Ethical Trading Institute's Peter McAllister has declared the world in the middle of a supply chain safety paradigm shift. Severe cost cutting measures led to a sunken ship off the coast of Wales. And rest in peace to the oldest man in the world, who died today at the age of 116.
Today, the New York Times discusses the "Sippy Cup 1%" (aka Portlandia parents!) who seek out all-natural and all organic - at a premium price. MetalMiner covers a new commodity price study recently released by The Economist, Amazon enters the high-end beauty product market, and drop the anchor - low water levels in the Great Lakes is having a negative affect on shipping.
Forget the egalitarianism of lines. Universal Studios now offers unlimited line jumping, along with other various perks, to any holder of a $299 V.I.P. day pass. Google may purchase mapping company Waze for $1.3 billion, and Bangladesh garment sales rose last month despite the recent factory disaster. Afternoon Coffee brings you the day's news in spending and procurement.
"Supply chain management" is the new trendy MBA of the day! Also, outsourcing is risky, yes, but there are steps you can take. Finally Uncle Sam wants to see who you've been chatting with if you're a Verizon customer, and SAP finds some B2B success with Twitter. It's almost Friday, folks.