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Quality & Metrics: Page 206

Despite Still-sluggish Economy, Survey Finds Consumer Sentiment Is on Upswing

Five years after the onset of the global recession of 2008-2009, the sluggish pace of recovery and worries over employment and financial security continue to weigh heavily on consumer sentiment in developed economies. Consumers remain highly concerned about their jobs, personal finances, and economic future. Yet amid the lingering angst expressed in The Boston Consulting Group's 2013 Global Consumer Sentiment Survey, there are also encouraging signs.

Study Details CIO 'Evolving' from Improver to Transformer

The demand for speed, re-invention, agility and innovation in business so dramatically increased over the last five years that it has required that CIOs move beyond business improvement to business transformation, according to a survey by Epicor software in conjunction with the UK's The Manufacturer magazine.

Product Lifecycles Create 'Gap' in Electronics Supply Chain Filled by Unauthorized Components

Widely divergent lifecycles for electronics products are creating increasing demand for obsolete and end-of-life components, which sometimes end up being sourced from the gray market. Let's look in detail why that is happening and how product lifecycles are creating a gap in the electronic components supply chain that is in danger of being filled by counterfeit components.

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If You Improved Your Processes, Why Are You Making the Same Mistakes Again?

Have you ever wondered why it is so easy for improved processes to go back to how they were performing before improvement? Why it always seems that, even if everybody follows the new instructions, the process still produces defects? Why it's so hard to maintain the benefits in the process after the projects are done?

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Can Green Technology Keep the Ocean Shipping World Sustainable?

In many ways, the fateful episode of the Costa Concordia provides a metaphor for the international shipping industry as a whole. Its image is hardly the best. Huge tankers plying the sea, belching noxious gases into the air from low-grade crude and pumping out invasive species when emptying their ballast-water tanks on shore. Oh, and a catastrophic oil spill every now and then. But that's not the whole story.

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Can U.S. Companies Take a Page from Playbook of Successful Multinationals from Emerging Markets?

Mexican bread maker Bimbo. Chinese electronics brand Haier. Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer. A decade ago, those companies were largely dismissed by their larger, U.S. competitors. Now, they have taken over the lead in global market share in their respective industries. Can U.S. companies learn from their successes?

Virginia Tops List of Most Pro-Business States

Pockets of the U.S. are primed for growth thanks to pro-business regulatory environments, educated workforces and reasonable business costs. Leading the way is Virginia which tops Forbes' eighth annual list of the Best States for Business. Virginia has ranked second the past three years, but returns to the head of the pack for the first time since 2009.

China's Logistics Industry Faces Influx of Smuggling

China is struggling to combat illegal imports which smugglers conceal in mass freight as the country's logistics industry booms.

To Grow, Manufacturers Must Address Ticking 'Biological Clock' in Talent Recruitment, Study Says

At a time when technological innovations offer new growth opportunities for the manufacturing sector, a lack of talent from "rising generations" threatens its future vitality, according to ThomasNet.com's Industry Market Barometer research.

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Some of the Biggest Manufacturers Use 3D Printers, But Mass Manufacturing Is Not Endangered

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing as it's often called, is not about to replace mass manufacturing. Even though the technology is improving, the finish and durability of some printed items can still fall short of what producers require.

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When Things Are Bad, Can You Afford to Innovate? When They Are Good, Do You Need to Innovate?

In good times and in bad, companies often struggle with whether or not to invest in innovation. In a recent Accenture survey, only 18 percent of chief executives at 519 companies across more than 12 industry sectors in France, Britain and the United States said their investments in innovation were giving them a competitive advantage. Forty-six percent said their companies had become more risk averse when considering new ideas. And CEOs are supposed to be the optimistic ones.

Majority of Procurement Departments Focused on Supplier Collaboration Rather Than Lowest Cost, Survey Suggests

Sixty-seven percent of surveyed chief procurement officers say their departments are more focused on building collaborative relationships with suppliers than on obtaining the lowest costs, according to a survey by Consero Group, an international player in events scheduling for senior executives. The results were reported as part of its Fall 2013 Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Data Survey.

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How a Leading U.S. Floral Distribution Company Reduced Warehouse Labor Costs by 45% with RFID

Recycled Tagging Fasteners: Small Changes Make a Big Impact

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Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

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