The Thomas Blog

What Risks Concern Manufacturing Industry Leaders Today?

The manufacturing industry is largely comprised of small businesses. Within these smaller organizations, financial decisions always loom incredibly large. Every dollar counts, and one misstep can lead to a loss of a key customer or another negative consequence. That's why it's important to steer clear of these common risks and challenges.

How To Keep Up With Changing Technology Trends

There's plenty of coverage and chatter on IoT trends, being replaced by robots, and legacy equipment vs. digital manufacturing in our industry. That's a good thing because technology becomes more integrated with every aspect of our lives each day.

How to Innovate Without Blowing Your R&D Budget

In 1998, Steve Jobs told Fortune, “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have.” Jobs believed that throwing money at a problem should not be the answer. Creativity and genuine genius should win out. And whether you’re a pharmaceutical and software company with a large budget for research and development or a custom manufacturer with considerably less, a budget is still a budget.

So here are a few tips to help you spearhead innovation without blowing your R&D budget.

7 Strategies To Help You Overcome Supply Chain Disruption

Your supply chain is delicate. If just one link in the chain is disrupted, it can have a significant impact on multiple aspects of your business. So what steps can you take to maintain business continuity and minimize the impact of unforeseen disruptions?

While there's no single answer to truly prevent supplier disruption, the key is is to not be caught by surprise and minimize its impact. Strengthen your logistics operations and be prepared with these ways.

5 Awesome Made In America Products You Can Buy Right Now

The manufacturing sector is constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology, and that in turn is fueling the demand for local sourcing and reshoring.

However, for U.S. manufacturing to continue its momentum, buyers must be able to purchase these awesome made-in-America products, and that's what Thomasnet.com is all about.

Every day, we help buyers connect with qualified suppliers who can deliver exactly what they are looking for. Here are some of the amazing U.S.-made products that are being produced by suppliers on Thomasnet.com right now.

Working In Manufacturing As A Millennial

When I started working in manufacturing, while I had some interest in sectors, I originally thought industry was complicated, outdated, and somewhat dull — but I was quickly proven indisputably wrong.

Today, I know the truth — it is great to work in manufacturing. Unfortunately, many of my fellow millennials still have a negative perception about the industry, which makes it harder to recruit young talent and overcome the talent shortage. To change their minds, and to help you recruit and connect with millennials in your workforce, I wanted to share what I have learned, and what excites me most, about manufacturing. 

6 Technical Trends That Are Reshaping Manufacturing (Part 2)

Last week, we revealed the coolest new technology behind additive manufacturing, wearables, and robots. But with so many examples of technical trends that are sweeping manufacturing and the supply chain in Frost & Sullivan's outline of the Top 50 Emerging Technologies that are expected to transform the world, we couldn't cram them all into one post.  

So without further adieu, here are three more tech trends in the manufacturing industry along with examples of the latest advancements in their respective fields.

6 Technical Trends That Are Reshaping Manufacturing (Part 1)

Year after year, the manufacturing industry finds itself on the cutting edge of technology, and 2016 is no exception. The research team at Frost & Sullivan uncovered the Top 50 Emerging Technologies expected to transform the world and, not surprisingly, many of them will impact manufacturers and supply chain professionals.

Educating The Future Of Robotics

Millennials in the manufacturing and supply chain industries are garnering a lot of attention, not to mention a lot of headlines. From how milliennials search for jobs to their growing influence on the supply chain, millennials get people talking. 

However, we wanted to talk about the generation that will follow the millennials — Generation Z. Members of this generation are still in classes, developing their interests, and laying the foundations for their futures  many of which will be in STEM fields.