Alabama’s Defense Clusters
TEXT BY BY NANCY MANN JACKSON, JESSICA ARMSTRONG, LAURA STAKELUM & TAMMY LEYTHAM
May 2015
The people of Alabama do more than their share to support the U.S. military – and the military helps support the people of Alabama. Aside from those who serve in active duty or reserve roles, many Alabamians work in civilian roles that support the defense industry. As a result, a wide range of public-sector and private-sector jobs – and the state’s economic sustainability – are closely linked to Pentagon decisions about base realignment and closure (BRAC) and threats of sequestration.Military bases, the National Guard and Reserve, and defense contractors have an annual economic impact of more than $17 billion in Alabama, and more than 117,000 Alabamians work in jobs that are directly or indirectly connected to military installations.
For the rest of the story visit Business Alabama.
The Internet of Things (IoT): Opportunities for Smarter Supply Chains
By Maha Muzumdar, Vice President, Supply Chain, Products Business Group, Oracle and Margie Steele, Principal Consultant, Oracle
Jun 3, 2015
Supply chains coordinate and balance people, activities and resources to make and move a product to deliver to customers. It involves the coordination and flow of goods, cash and information. Every company tries to balance and optimize their supply chain to improve profitability and better customer service. The Internet of Things (IoT) is enabling more and faster information across the supply chains for better decisions, planning and execution.
New market opportunities are available to companies in almost every industry from the data that IoT delivers
For the rest of the story visit Industry Week.
New Mercedes, now made in Alabama, shrouded in secrecy ahead of big screen debut
Ryan Phillips
Birmingham Business Journal
Jun 3, 2015, 11:46pm CDTA South Korea-based auto parts manufacturer announced last week that it will locate a plant in Alexander City. Korens Inc., which promarily supplies Hyundai, Kia and BMW, said it will bring hundreds of jobs to the area over the next few years, according to a report from WSFA.
Officials said the company will create 200 jobs by the end of 2019 and 400 by the end of 2021.
For the rest of the story visit Birmingham Business Journal.