The Thomas Blog

What Can You Do To Create More Supply Chain Transparency?

Supply chain transparency is a high priority for many organizations. However, because of the fragmented nature of supply chains, creating efficient, end-to-end monitoring systems can be a challenge. 

Top Tools For Sales & Marketing Collaboration

Love versus hate. Good versus evil. Heaven versus hell. Sales versus marketing?

If you’ve ever worked in or with a sales or marketing department, you know that the statement above might not be as ridiculous as it first seems.

Video: The Latest Engineering Innovations From January 2017

New products are being created every day, so what’s new in the marketplace? Our friends at Industrial Equipment News created a roundup of their favorite product developments so far in 2017.

Here are some of the products that topped the list: 

RIT To Lead National Consortium For Cleaner Manufacturing

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to head up a national consortium that will be charged with developing sustainable manufacturing technologies.

The Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions Institute (REMADE) is part of the DOE’s Manufacturing USA initiative and will be housed at RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability, under the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance.

3 Industrial PPC Trends to Watch in 2017

The new year is always a time of both reflection and looking ahead, especially when it comes to search engine optimization and search engine marketing trends. This year, we expect to see the pay-per-click advertising trends established last year continue to grow.

Can Worker Training Programs Solve The Skills Gap In Manufacturing?

The skills gap is a major roadblock to the growth of the manufacturing industry. While training programs could be the solution, they raise the question of who should be leading the training initiatives – and who should be paying for them.

How Boeing Transports Their 100-Foot Wings Through Washington

A lot of work goes into building large products. But it takes quite a lot of work to transport those projects as well.

Take, for example, Boeing’s massive, 100-foot wings, which much be transported from Frederickson to Everett, Washington, which is 70 miles away.  

A Boon For Manufacturers As U.S. Navy Upgrades Fleet

On January 4, the Pentagon announced plans to build a fleet of 12 new Columbia-class submarines in an effort to update America’s ballistic missile submarine fleet.

The Columbia fleet is to replace 24 aging subs, some of which have been in service since the mid-1970s. The long-awaited Columbia class is just one part of the Pentagon's 30-year, trillion-dollar plan to upgrade the sea-air-land nuclear triad.

Preliminary cost estimates for the proposed Columbia fleet places $13 billion for R&D and $115 billion for procurement. The Navy is currently in talks with General Dynamics to head up the program, as well as with their top sub-contractor, Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful CPO?

It takes a lot of skill to become a successful CPO. Not only do procurement leaders need to understand how globalization affects their department, they also need to stay up to date on emerging procurement technologies and evolving business standards. But what makes the difference between an average CPO and a CPO that goes above and beyond?