Apple Now Homegrown
Apple, the iPhone and Mac producer, is continuing its trend for re-shoring back to home soil, through the building of a new facility in Mesa, Arizona. It is believed thus far that the plant will produce laboratory grown sapphire crystals—the material used for the iPhone 5S fingerprint sensor.
Through moving production back to the US it is believed that more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction will be created. Besides the economic benefits, Arizona will also gain from additional investment in renewable energy, due to the plant running entirely on geothermal and solar power.
In related news, next month, the first US made Macintosh computer since 2004 will go on sale.
To read more, click here.
Supply Chain Fraud on the Rise
A recent article published on the CFO website points to a 9% increase over the last year in the number of companies affected by supply chain fraud.
Alarmingly, 30% of the fraud was committed by vendors and suppliers, and among the various types of fraud done, the highest rise was in vendor, supplier and procurement fraud. It rose from 12% to 19%. Unsurprisingly, the most cited type of fraud affecting companies was the loss of physical assets at 28% and in second place information theft with 22%.
Dave Holley, a senior managing director of Kroll, the company that sponsored the report, muses that a partial explanation for the rise in fraud is due to budget cuts. Furthermore, many companies try to avoid expensive investigations, and opt for “risk avoidance” to prevent fraud.
To see the whole list, click here.
A Labor of Love, as Skilled Worker Numbers Fall
An interesting, albeit worrying enigma is occurring in the US. As shown in our previous story, despite the headlines being awash with reports of jobs for skilled factory workers, companies in the US are actually finding it difficult to fill places for highly skilled positions such as technicians and engineers.
The cause of the issue is that the younger generation finds manufacturing work unappealing, with an increasingly shrinking demographic of younger workers. A study conducted by ThomasNet.com revealed that for 75% of companies surveyed, only 25% of their employees are aged under 30, while 80% of the current manufacturing workforce is between the ages of 45 and 65. Such a phenomenon is according to Thomas.Net a “ticking biological clock”, which could lead to labor issues and ultimately slowing down growth.
All hope is not however lost. To address the issue, American companies are beginning to adopt the commonly used European practice of apprenticeship type programs to create their future workforce— a tactical investment in uncertain market conditions.
To read more, click here.
Have a nice weekend!
