AI that tells employees what to do next appears to outperform AI that merely gives them information | Gartner found sales organizations providing AI-enabled “next best actions” were 2.6 times more likely to achieve commercial growth.
Supply-chain risk has nearly doubled as a strategic priority. Thomson Reuters research found 68% of trade professionals now identify supply-chain management as a top strategic priority, compared with 35% a year earlier.
Zara’s sourcing calendar is being disrupted by hotter summers. Inditex says extreme heat is stretching further into what would traditionally be fall selling season, forcing retailers to rethink when they source and stock jackets and coats.
Ship fuel prices are becoming a new logistics cost problem | Reuters reports inventories at major hubs are roughly 30% below seasonal norms, while low-sulfur marine fuel prices in Singapore have risen 76% since the current Iran conflict began.
U.S. manufacturing is still growing, but new orders and input costs are becoming problems | The ISM manufacturing index fell to 54.6 in August from 55.6 in July, while manufacturers reported weaker new orders and continued pressure from steel, aluminum, copper and semiconductor costs.
Customer-service employment is projected to fall even while companies need nearly 290,000 replacements every year. Customer-service-representative employment will decline 5% from 2025 to 2035, reflecting automation and changing service channels.
Supply-chain professionals now have a median U.S. base salary of $98,500. 77% percent received a salary increase, while the largest raises were disproportionately associated with changing employers or earning promotions.
Panama Canal new capacity cuts put US ports on notice | Declining water supplies could constrain capacity, reliability and shipping costs, with U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports particularly exposed