Study: More than Half of Global Brands Fail to Answer E-mails
According to a recent report from BtoB magazine, less than half of the top global brands respond to e-mail correspondence sent to their Web sites.
Herman Trend Alert: Innovation Talent Bank at Risk
America’s vital research and development is at risk; the country’s share of global degrees in the innovation fields (both baccalaureate and graduate) is declining. Long-term shifts are likely in the share of global talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Action & Reaction: The Effect of Smaller Sales Forces
Remember manufacturer sales people? There might be a connection between their reduction and a renewed strength of the OE brand. I was never a whiz at math, and I guess that’s why I ended up in journalism. Words and sentences just seem to make much more sense to me than numbers and algebraic variables. But at least like most people, I do understand Newton’s Third Law of physics: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
DuPont Recycles For Autos
By the end of 2005, automakers selling in Europe must produce cars that are 85 percent recyclable, an increase from 75 percent now required by the End of Life Vehicles directive from the European Union. By the end of 2005, automakers selling in Europe must produce cars that are 85 percent recyclable, an increase from 75 percent now required by the End of Life Vehicles directive from the European Union.
eBay Sells Increasingly More Used Cars
Automotive experts laughed when eBay began selling used cars online, but by 9 a.m. every day, eBay sells more cars than a dealership sells in a year. The Detroit Free Press reported Monday eBay sells a sports utility vehicle every nine minutes, while a Ford Mustang sells every 40 minutes.
Leadership for Change: Key Advice for Middle Management Champions
Over the last two months, we have covered the topic of change leadership from a variety of angles. Our goal has been to offer practical advice from 25 years of experience in mentoring successful executive-level change agents. But what do you do if you are a middle manager?
Time is Running Out: Get Your Company Listed in aftermarketNews.com’s Free Online Manufacturer’s Rep Directory
Time is flying by. Don’t miss your opportunity to see your company listed in aftermarketNews.com’s free online Manufacturer’s Rep Directory. Developed as an added service for our subscribers, the new i>aftermarketNews.com online Manufacturer’s Rep Directory will feature important and useful information about manufacturer’s rep firms across North America.
Manufacturing Mass Layoffs Edge Up
The number of mass layoffs in U.S. manufacturing rose slightly to 222 in June from 219 in May, the U.S. Department of Labor reported July 22. The number of workers affected rose as well, increasing to 27,307 in June from 22,141 in May. The department defines monthly mass layoffs as a loss of jobs affecting 50 or more workers from a single establishment. The number of workers affected is calculated from new filings for unemployment insurance benefits.
Portals Help Manufacturers Predict Delays in Material Shipments
It’s 10 o’clock on Sunday night — do you know where your raw materials, parts, components and sub-assemblies are? That shipment of motors from Taiwan? The load of automotive frame parts bound for the Port of Oakland that you’ll need a week from Thursday on a just-in-time basis? How about those disk drives and capacitors your materials chief ordered from a new supplier in China for your finished-goods assembly plant? Chances are, if yours are among the billions of dollars worth of goods crossing the Pacific Ocean — or any ocean, for that matter — you’re not sure where your cargo is.
Automotive Suppliers Among Industry Week’s Top 50 Manufacturers
A number of familiar names in the automotive industry have made it to Industry Week magazine’s Top 50 list this year. Featured in the August issue of Industry Week, the article — Focus on the Best 50 — selected its picks from top manufacturing companies featured in the IW U.S. 500, a list of the largest publicly traded manufacturing firms in America. Among the automotive-related companies that made the list were Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco, Johnson Controls, 3M, Clorox, American Axle & Manufacturing and Reynolds & Reynolds Co.
Japanese Students Get Lesson on U.S. Cars
Who knew that American autos could pose such a culture shock — the steering wheel is on the left side, the cars are bigger and American drivers use car-side mirrors.
Herman Trend Alert: Education Will Be the Competitive Edge
More Americans are complaining that their jobs are going to foreign nationals. Indignantly, they point to American companies giving preference to citizens of other countries — the work to be performed in the U.S. or in some other country. The accusations charge that the employers are choosing the foreign alternative to save money, that the foreigners will work more cheaply than Americans. Our research has uncovered a much different situation.