Starting with cardboard boxes, John Denslinger walks readers through the history of packaging innovations concluding with intelligent packaging bristling with electronics.   It wasn’t long ago goods shipped in simple cardboard boxes with little more than a sender’s name and destination address. As years passed, package design and materials steadily improved, affording better product protection, brand graphics and lower overall costs. As e-commerce exploded, consumers began to expect more. They wanted the ability to track and verify home deliveries. Companies also sought more: eliminating routing delays, lost shipments and returns due to packaging failures. Both needs were reasonable but real-time…

To some, ‘battle’ might be overkill describing the outlook for rare earth minerals. Afterall, these minerals are actually abundant and found on every continent. Like most battles though, engagement with opposition occurs on multiple fronts. Such is the case for rare earth: trophy minerals are seldom extracted from a single, concentrated deposit; mineral processing entails a complex and expensive transformation to a useful alloy; and unfortunately, the US finds itself in a weak starting position with just a single operating mine and zero refining. Three massive fronts to remedy if we are serious about restoring one of America’s vital supply…

In this article, John Denslinger reminds readers that even in a recessionary environment, next-gen electronics technologies and applications will still see growth. Forecasting 2023 is a challenge given so much economic uncertainty. Will it be recession or recovery that dominates the calendar? It’s anyone’s guess as there seems to be no common path forward. A prolonged contraction suggests a year of sluggish economic growth. But, if the Fed can tame inflation, minimise employment losses, stabilise consumer and financial confidence, and do it quickly, a second half recovery is possible.   On the macro level, the economy is either transitioning or…

John Denslinger explores the growing role of artificial intelligence in business environments and offers an opinion on the recently published Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights AI is largely desired for its data analytics, but generally comes with embedded algorithms particularly in customer, employment and productivity software packages often unbeknownst to procurement teams. Likewise, large enterprise platforms updated by outside vendors may introduce additional or modified AI functions likely enhanced by cloud-based machine-learning systems. There can be no doubt, AI is becoming ubiquitous as a super-automated, decision-making tool. Coupled with machine-learning, AI’s overall capability is nothing less than scary…

In the face of a changing economy, John Denslinger encourages employers to value the people they have; employees to maximise their productive; and new hires to be flexible. Office productivity in the American workplace is second to none. For years, tech companies invested heavily in computational power, interactive systems, decision tools and global communication links allowing worker productivity to soar. That trend continues today as companies accelerate investments in cloud services and massive data storage to capture billions of vital data points from digital mining, IoT inputs and AI applications. One might say it’s the perfect blend of man and…

John Denslinger asks whether America’s transportation links could undermine supply continuity just when the electronics industry needs it the most There is an old adage describing resilience and persistence in the face of adversity: ‘bend, not break’. Unfortunately, when it comes to global supply lines, the opposite seems our destiny: ‘break, not bend’. US global supply chains once considered the ultimate in cost effectiveness, flexibility and reliability are procurement headaches. Today, nothing seems normal or consistent about everyday movement of raw materials, supplies and finished goods.  How robust are America’s transportation links? A supplier’s lifeline relies on transportation certainty whether…