Manufacturing, logistics and procurement - September 2019
The Pallet Report: State of the pallet industry
As more companies automate their materials handling, storage and palletising operations, the need for higher quality, reliable pallets that can go the distance is on the rise. This conclusion can be drawn from the new Pallet Report by Virginia Tech University in collaboration with Modern Materials Handling and Peerless Research Group (PRG).
Wood packaging material
The Dutch NVWA has published a checklist (in Dutch) on the phytosanitary requirements applicable to the import of wood products and packaging wood from third countries.
EUROPHYT-Interceptions is the online rapid alert system for plant health interceptions in the EU. The EC has recently published the annual report 2018 (1.48 MB). It shows that 2,401 notifications of intercepted wood packaging material (WPM) were received, an overall decrease of 20% over 2017. The number of interceptions of harmful organisms in WPM remained largely unchanged (205 in 2017 and 206 in 2018).
Digitisation motor behind consolidation in transmission component industry
According to a new report (in Dutch, 1.85 MB) by ABN AMRO (in Dutch), drive technology companies must now make the leap towards digitisation. It is mainly the end customers who are enforcing this move. They are in the process of transforming their production locations into a 'digital factory', where all processes are digitally linked and where everything is continuously checked and adjusted.
Disconnect around adoption of emerging technologies in IT
More than 90% of executives plan to integrate blockchain, quantum computing, conversational AI, the IoT and security and privacy technology into their operations. However, only 50% of executives expect to do so within the next three years, Avanade says in a recent report (876 kB). According to the same study, Dutch companies are lagging behind other countries in the areas of blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.
EU artificial intelligence ethics checklist ready
The European Commission has just launched the pilot phase of the ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI, as the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence released its policy recommendations. Download the EU Factsheet on Artificial Intelligence here.
Examining blockchain for business: new GS1 report
Companies are under pressure to embrace new technologies to meet growing consumer demand for safer food and pharmaceuticals, and transparency, traceability and verifiability of the products they buy. One solution that is rising to the top is blockchain technology. A new report (817 kB) by GS1 spells out the business and technical aspects that businesses should be considering when implementing solutions using blockchain technology - and how GS1 can support industry in defining a roadmap that can lead to standards-based data exchange.
'Smart' soft/hard material for robot grippers
A new material created at the University of Waterloo can switch back and forth between a hard solid or a soft gel at the same temperature. The two overlapping states of sal-gel, as researchers call it, especially pave the way for applications that require a gentle touch but a firm grip, like for robots grippers. An article (abstract) about the research is published in Nature Materials.
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