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  • Samsung Is Already Hard at Work on Google’s Third-Gen Tensor Chip

    Samsung Is Already Hard at Work on Google’s Third-Gen Tensor Chip

    Samsung is reportedly already hard at work on Google’s third-gen Tensor chip, although concrete details are few and far between.

    Tensor is the custom system on a chip (SoC) processor Google uses to power its Pixel line of smartphones. The first-gen Tensor powers the entire Pixel 6 and 6a lines, with the second-gen expected to power the Pixel 7.

    According to Galaxy Club, via 9to5Google, Samsung is in the “early testing and development” phase with the third-gen Tensor. There were no additional details regarding what improvements the new design may bring.

    Why Samsung?

    In some ways, it’s somewhat surprising Google is continuing to rely on Samsung as its primary manufacturing partner. While Samsung is a major semiconductor manufacturer, it is widely considered to be behind rival TSMC in the quality of its chips.

    Samsung’s manufacturing issues became evident when some of its Exynos processors experienced heat issues. Some of the latest Snapdragon processors, which Samsung manufactured for Qualcomm, experienced similar issues.. In contrast, Apple and MediaTek processors are manufactured by TSMC and do not have the same issues.

    Given that Google’s North American smartphone market share grew by 230% in Q2 2022, the company clearly has an opportunity to continue challenging its larger rivals in the smartphone space. It is somewhat puzzling that Google does not want to switch to TSMC for its manufacturing needs and is continuing to stick with Samsung.

  • Intel Signs $30 Billion Financing Deal With Brookfield to Expand Chip Factories

    Intel Signs $30 Billion Financing Deal With Brookfield to Expand Chip Factories

    Intel is pulling an industry first, partnering with Brookfield Asset Management Inc to help fund its chip factory expansion.

    Intel is working on expanding its US-based chip production as lawmakers look to help the US become less dependent on foreign semiconductor manufacturing. In an unprecedented move, Intel is partnering with Brookfield to help fund its $30 billion expansion plans, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    Intel will fund 51% of the expansion, with Brookfield funding the rest. Intel and Brookfield will split ownership of the financing entity that will own the factories, as well as the resulting profits, although Intel will retain majority ownership.

    While the financing arrangement is new for the semiconductor industry, it’s a relatively common practice in others, such as telecommunications and energy. Given the challenges Intel is facing, not the least of which is the surprise $500 million loss the company recently reported, the deal made sense.

    “We have gotten behind, and that requires a fairly aggressive investment cycle over the next few years, which is not a place Intel typically finds itself,” said Intel Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner.

  • Foxconn Investing $300 Million in Vietnam Manufacturing

    Foxconn Investing $300 Million in Vietnam Manufacturing

    Apple supplier Foxconn plans to invest some $300 million in its Vietnam manufacturing facilities in an effort to increase production.

    Vietnam has been working to establish itself as a center for tech manufacturing. Reports surfaced last week that Apple is looking to move Apple Watch and MacBook production to the country for the first time ever. As a result, it’s not surprising that Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner is looking to expand its in-country production.

    According to Reuters, “Foxconn has signed a $300 million memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese developer Kinh Bac City (KBC.HM) to expand its facility in the north of the country to diversify and boost production.”

    Foxconn’s new factory will sit on 125 acres in the Bac Giang province and will reportedly create 30,000 jobs in the local economy.

  • Apple Testing MacBook and Apple Watch Production in Vietnam

    Apple Testing MacBook and Apple Watch Production in Vietnam

    Apple is looking to expand its manufacturing presence in Vietnam, testing MacBook and Apple Watch production.

    Apple has been working to diversify its manufacturing process and reduce its dependence on China. The pandemic’s lockdowns highlighted the inherent risks of Apple having its entire manufacturing process in a single country.

    According to Nikkei Asia, the company is looking to expand its manufacturing footprint in Vietnam, including the manufacture of its most complex device, the Apple Watch. Despite the complexity of the iPhone and iPad, the Apple Watch presents even greater challenges due to its smaller size.

    According to the report, Apple’s efforts include doing production test runs with both Luxshare Precision Industry and Foxconn. The transition is presenting some challenges, however, especially with the MacBook. China has been a hub of computer manufacturing for so long that virtually all of Apple’s MacBook supply chain is located in that country, and the supply chain is already optimized and cost-effective. As a result, moving production to Vietnam is taking longer than might be expected.

    Nonetheless, Apple’s focus on Vietnam is a big win for a country looking to establish itself as a center of tech manufacturing.

    “AirPods, Apple Watch, HomePod and more … Apple has big plans in Vietnam, apart from iPhone manufacturing,” one of the people with direct knowledge of the situation told Nikkei. “The components for MacBooks have become more modularized than in the past, which makes it easier to produce the laptops outside of China. But how to make it cost-competitive is another challenge.”

  • Walmart’s Inventory Woes Are the Latest Economic Warning Sign

    Walmart’s Inventory Woes Are the Latest Economic Warning Sign

    Walmart has an inventory problem as a result of an impending economic downturn and its impact on consumer spending.

    According to Forbes, executives outlined the issues the company is facing, including $1.5 billion in unwanted inventory.

    “If we could just wave a magic wand, we’d make it go away today,” said chief financial officer John David Rainey. “We’ve also cancelled billions of dollars in orders to help align inventory levels with expected demand.”

    Executives believe it may take a couple of quarters to clear the additional inventory, much of which falls in the sporting goods, electronics, home, and apparel categories. In addition, changing buying habits as a result of the economy are also making it difficult to predict how customers will spend their money.

    “We’ve seen more pronounced consumer shifts and trade-down activity” Rainey explained. “As an example, instead of deli meats at higher price points, customers are increasing purchases of hotdogs as well as canned tuna or chicken.”

    Rainey indicates the company is struggling with a far sharper return to pre-pandemic norms than many companies expected, as well as a massive increase in inflation.

    “As a backdrop, the shifts that we’ve seen in consumer behavior through the pandemic, shifting from in-store to online, along with big swings in the purchase of goods versus services. and then the reversion back to pre-pandemic norms has been sharp and difficult to predict. These trends have been exacerbated by inflationary pressure on the consumer that many of us have not experienced in our lifetime, the effect of which has recently changed consumption patterns in certain categories for us, notably general merchandise.”

    Overall, Walmart’s situation should serve as a further warning regarding the state of the economy.

  • Supply Chain Issues May Be Constraining Azure Server Availability

    Supply Chain Issues May Be Constraining Azure Server Availability

    Supply chain issues may be negatively impacting Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, constraining the supply of available server resources.

    Customers are reportedly having issues with the number two cloud provider, including an inability to subscribe to new services. The Information ran a piece claiming Microsoft is running out of server capacity, and The Register says the problem may lie in the broader supply chain issues that have plagued the computer industry since the beginning of the pandemic.

    According to the reports, even if customers in UK South and UK West can sign up for subscriptions, they cannot deploy compute solutions. Capacity in Washington State appears to be impacted as well.

    One likely explanation is the effort Microsoft is exerting to help the Ukrainian government, with the company moving its IT operations to the cloud and helping to combat Russian cyberattacks.

    These various factors, in combination with general supply chain constraints, are pushing Azure’s capacity to the limit.

    Microsoft told The Register it was experiencing “unprecedented” demand, adding that it would use capacity restrictions as needed to cope with the issue.

    “With this surge, coupled with macro trends impacting the whole industry, we’ve taken steps to address customer increases in capacity while also expediting server deployment in our datacenters. Our priority remains ensuring business continuity for customers. In addition to managing and planning for growth, we actively load balance as needed.

    “If it does become necessary to put capacity restrictions in place, we will first restrict trials and internal workloads to prioritize growth of existing customers,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

    Interestingly, at least some customers say these constraints are nothing new and have been a long-term problem for the cloud provider. One thing is certain: If Microsoft wants to build on the momentum it currently has, and continue to gain ground on AWS, it will need to address its capacity issues one way or another.

  • Supply Chain Woes Leave GM With 95,000 Vehicles Waiting for Parts

    Supply Chain Woes Leave GM With 95,000 Vehicles Waiting for Parts

    Supply chain issues continue to plague the auto industry, with GM currently waiting for parts for some 95,000 vehicles.

    Since the early days of the pandemic, automakers have struggled to keep up with demand as semiconductors and other components have been in short supply. Despite the pandemic easing, the supply chain issues continue to be a major problem, with GM still not able to secure enough semiconductors.

    As a result, GM will hold about 95,000 vehicles manufactured without certain components in company inventory until they are completed and will recognize revenue when they are sold to dealers, which is expected to happen throughout the second half of 2022. The impact of these events, which is not expected to impact GM’s full-year earnings guidance, is discussed in an SEC Form 8-K filed today.

    Despite the news, the company is still bullish on its overall outlook, based on its past quarters and its upcoming lineup.

    “GM’s sales and market share have grown each of the last three quarters, even with lingering supply chain disruptions,” said Steve Carlisle, GM executive vice president and president, North America. “Our long-term momentum will continue to build thanks to the launches of groundbreaking new EVs like the GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ, and the tremendous customer response to the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.”

  • CloudBees: 45% of Execs Are Only Halfway Through Securing Supply Chain

    CloudBees: 45% of Execs Are Only Halfway Through Securing Supply Chain

    The latest report from CloudBees is bad news for the cloud industry, with many companies still not fully securing their supply chain.

    Supply chain attacks have become increasingly common, with hackers viewing them as a high-reward attack vector. Rather than trying to compromise individual targets, a single, successful attack against a vendor whose software or APIs are used by thousands of companies can yield far greater results.

    Unfortunately, many companies have yet to fully secure their supply chain, according to CloudBees. Of the C-suite executives surveyed, 93% believed they were well-prepared for an attack. A deeper dive, however, showed a different story.

    A whopping 45% of execs say they are only halfway through the process of securing their supply chain, with only 23% nearly done. Even worse, a disturbing 64% say they don’t know who they would turn to first in the wake of an attack.

    “We discovered that as software becomes the primary source of customer experience and value, supply chain security is getting the attention it deserves and at the proper levels in the organization,” writes Prakash Sethuraman, Chief Information Security Officer, CloudBees. “However, this study reveals gaps that indicate supply chain security is not well understood, nor are systems as robust or comprehensive as they should be.

    “Bottom line, the results reinforce the concept that software supply chain security needs to go beyond “shift left” to “shift security everywhere” — with automation. The software you are developing must be as secure as possible, but it doesn’t stop there. The delivery process itself must be protected, and you have to be able to detect and instantly mitigate problems in production to consider your software supply chain as secure.”

  • Bosch Calls for Reinventing Automotive Semiconductor Supply Chain

    Bosch Calls for Reinventing Automotive Semiconductor Supply Chain

    Bosch, the world’s largest automotive parts supplier, is calling for changes in how the supply chain operates as a result of the semiconductor crisis.

    The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a chain of events that have led to a massive semiconductor shortage. It began with factories shutting down as a result of lockdowns and continued due to pandemic-fueled increases in demand for computers, tablets and gaming consoles. The impact has spread beyond the computer industry and is wreaking havoc on the automotive industry as well. Many automakers have had to close plants, reduce production, delay models or ship vehicles without their usual complement of electronics.

    Bosch’s management believes the inherent nature of the supply chain is a large part of the problem, according to CNBC.

    “As a team, we need to sit together and ask, for the future operating system is there a better way to have longer lead times,” said Harald Kroeger, a member of Bosch’s management board. “I think what we need is more stock on some parts [of the supply chain] because some of those semiconductors need six months to be produced. You cannot run on a system [where] every two weeks you get an order. That doesn’t work.”

    Kroegen also emphasized the fact that cars are becoming even more dependent on semiconductors than in the past, making these issues more likely to occur in the future.

    A company as large and important to the industry as Bosch calling for improvements is sure to get attention, and may very well lead to the kind of changes the industry needs.

  • How the Supply Chain Can Get its Resiliency Back

    How the Supply Chain Can Get its Resiliency Back

    The pandemic put an unprecedented strain on the supply chain, revealing the need for new technologies and strategies to overcome bottlenecks.

    Shipping delays and material shortages continue making headlines as manufacturers worldwide struggle to meet consumer demand for everything from auto parts to pharmaceuticals.

    COVID-19 exposed a glaring lack of agility in supply chains which, if left unchecked, will both sabotage the economic recovery and put lives in danger.

    Before 2020, many people would have described US supply chains as resilient. However, the past 18 months added a less desirable set of adjectives to the list, such as brittle, inelastic, fragile, and vulnerable. While the need for critical care medications surge, manufacturers lack the necessary insights to respond to site closures and impaired transportation routes that immobilize supply chains.

    Business Intelligence: Better Supply Chain Resiliency is Found in The Data Story

    Historically, data initiatives falter because of the massive number of spreadsheets and reports data scientists must read through and decipher before presenting actionable takeaways. Without access to real-time, actionable intelligence, decision-makers are stuck waiting for analysts to explain their findings.

    Bottlenecks like this hinder agility, making it impossible to adapt to unforeseen events in a timely manner, sacrificing productivity and efficiency.

    In hybrid work environments, stakeholders in disparate locations need self-service access to analytics to facilitate the kind of quick problem-solving customers demand, especially when they’re waiting for life-saving medications and other high-priority shipments. Business intelligence (BI) dashboards, accessible as-a-service, are quickly becoming the go-to tools for enterprises that count on real-time data intelligence for survival.

    Pharma manufacturers, logistics and distribution companies are fortifying their supply chains by augmenting BI dashboards with artificial intelligence like natural language generation (NLG). NLG technology augments data visualizations by “narrating” all underlying data in BI dashboards.

    Companies like Arria NLG embed no-code NLG plug-ins into BI dashboards, accelerating data understanding and informed decision-making.

    According to Gartner, 90% of the world’s top 500 companies will have converged analytics governance into broader data and analytics governance initiatives by 2023. Likewise, by 2025, data stories will be the most widespread way of consuming analytics, and 75 percent of stories will be automatically generated using augmented analytics techniques.

    Analytics presented in everyday vernacular extend data understanding across all lines of business. This not only gives supply chain and logistics companies a better understanding of their data, but it also makes actionable insights available more quickly to a broader range of decision-makers, not just the data scientists.

    Data storytelling communicates real-time insights in plain English to distribution and fulfillment managers into daily loads against capacity commitments, for example, exposing areas in which demand consistently outpace the committed capacity. In addition, the democratization of data enables companies to make faster, better-informed decisions and know what’s happening, what may be coming, and what to do next.

    Cloud-based, self-service analytics also represent an important milestone in AI adoption, with data-driven solutions at the center.

    As we saw in the early stages of COVID-19 vaccinations, manufacturers and treatment centers were ill-prepared to manage the flood of people seeking vaccinations. Leadership teams need real-time visibility of operations to align production sites, distribution centers and material flows.

    Transparency is the key to accounting for unexpected events that could affect supply and demand and lead to drug shortages. To move quickly from insight to action, pharma supply chains – from manufacturer to distributors and delivery – must have ready-access to the same real-time, actionable intelligence.

    Augmented analytics provide the answers to pivot without sacrificing productivity. Such adaptability and flexibility are the cornerstones of agility and supply chain resilience.

    According to Bain, Pharma companies that integrate flexibility and redundancy into the entire value chain, and that improve visibility, will be best positioned to predict chain disruptions and respond to them rapidly. Resilient supply chains bolster problem-solving capabilities throughout their organization and at manufacturing sites, empowering local organizations to make decisions that prevent disruptions in business continuity.

    Simply put, the sooner they can alert carriers to their need for more capacity, the better they can fill the gap.

    Closing Thoughts

    Supply chain resilience will be vital to navigating an increasingly turbulent market over the coming decade. Augmented analytics, which combines business intelligence and natural language AI, empower supply chains with data-driven, actionable intelligence to prevent manufacturing and shipping delays, which can have life and death implications.

    Supply chain and logistics companies don’t need to collect any more data to achieve better resiliency. They just need a way to more quickly extract, process and communicate the insights from their data so they can respond faster.

    Business intelligence and augmented analytics can make that goal a reality.

  • Skilled Labor: The Next Supply Chain Issue for Chipmakers

    Skilled Labor: The Next Supply Chain Issue for Chipmakers

    The last two years have been difficult for the semiconductor industry, but chipmakers are facing one of their biggest challenges yet: a skilled labor shortage.

    Chipmakers the world over have been struggling to keep up with demand since the outset of the global pandemic. Lockdowns in regions of China responsible for much of the industry’s manufacturing took their toll, as did general, pandemic-fueled supply chain issues.

    According to The Wall Street Journal, via AppleInsider, the industry is now facing a shortage of skilled labor. As with supply chain issues, the labor shortage is being driven by the pandemic.

    Eager to avoid the kind of issues that arose at the outset of the pandemic — and with cybersecurity increasingly becoming a national security issue — many governments are wanting to promote local semiconductor production. Unfortunately, because the industry has been focused in China and Asia for decades, there is a shortage of skilled workers outside that region. The WSJ estimates 70,000 to 90,000 silicon workers will be needed by 2025 in the US alone.

    To make matters worse, the labor shortage comes at a time when demand for workers is at a high across many different industries. As a result, employees are becoming far more selective about the jobs they take and are leaving undesirable jobs. This trend has been so widespread it has been called the “Great Resignation.”

    The WSJ says chipmakers are “stepping up [their] game” in an effort to attract more talent, increasing wages, improving recruitment, and developing closer ties with universities. With software and services getting all the limelight, however, it remains to be seen if these measures will be effective.

  • Russian Invasion of Ukraine Threatens Fragile Semiconductor Supply

    Russian Invasion of Ukraine Threatens Fragile Semiconductor Supply

    In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, experts are concerned the conflict could significantly impact the semiconductor supply chain.

    Semiconductor manufacturers have been struggling to keep up with demand since the outset of the pandemic. Early lockdowns and quarantines impacted supply, while people working from home and avoiding public activities drove up demand.

    According to VentureBeat, research firm Techcet attributes Ukraine with supplying 90% of the neon gas used in the lasers the US semiconductor industry relies on to manufacture chips. Further complicating the issue, Russia supplies 35% of the palladium for US chipmakers.

    CNBC is reporting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian troops have been stopped “in most directions,” as of early Friday morning. It’s unclear if the situation will stabilize, or if it will continue to deteriorate.

    One thing is certain: The longer the conflict goes on, the more likely the semiconductor supply chain will fall further behind.

  • National Retail Federation CEO: This Is A Great Time For Innovation

    National Retail Federation CEO: This Is A Great Time For Innovation

    This is a great time for innovation,” says National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay. “There’s been a great increase in efficiency in the supply chain. Those gains are not going to be given back. Customers are going to continue to expect certain kinds of delivery and fulfillment opportunities that have been rolled out by retailers this year. They won’t give that up. They are going to want the convenience and they are going to expect to be able to maintain that in the future.”

    Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, says that the pandemic has made this a great time for innovation by retailers:

    This Is A Great Time For Innovation.

    Just look back a decade ago and the companies that were created in the midst of the great recession in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We saw a lot of new IPOs. This is a great time for innovation. Some of the predictions this year, for example, about the number of stores that would close or bankruptcies that we would see just haven’t materialized. Part of that is because consumers have been relatively healthy and part of that is because on a net basis we’ve seen new businesses opening to offset the closing. There’s an enormous amount of innovation taking place.

    On the issue of returns, there’s a big company located right here in Washington, D.C., Optoro, a big partner for many retailers helping them process returns efficiently. I’ve talked to senior executives at UPS today about shipping issues and there is a lot of innovation taking place. They are working very diligently and have a great delivery record so far. We are looking forward to getting all those gifts to American families. The biggest gift of all, of course, will be some additional pandemic relief.

    A Lot Of This Is Going To Be A Permanent Change

    The issue is how much of this consumer behavior has changed permanently and fundamentally? How much of us as Americans go back to our old behaviors? That’s going to play itself out. Certainly, a lot of this is going to be a permanent change. People will do more as we saw across all demographic groups, regardless of age, this entire year doing much more online. Some of that will remain sticky.

    There’s been a great increase in efficiency in the supply chain. Those gains are not going to be given back. Customers are going to continue to expect certain kinds of delivery and fulfillment opportunities that have been rolled out by retailers this year. They won’t give that up. They are going to want the convenience and they are going to expect to be able to maintain that in the future.

    With those kinds of innovations and that kind of resilience in the system against the backdrop of a year next year that could be extremely bullish if we get the vaccine rolled out, as we all believe it will be. I talked to a senior executive of one of the major pharmaceutical companies last week and they said early April or the end of May everyone that wants it will get it. We could be set up for a really big comeback for consumers next year.

    National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay: This Is A Great Time For Innovation
  • Toyota to Reduce Global Production in June by 100,000 Vehicles

    Toyota to Reduce Global Production in June by 100,000 Vehicles

    Toyota is planning on a massive cut to its production, reducing production in June by 100,000 vehicles as a result of the semiconductor shortage.

    The semiconductor shortage has impacted industries around the world since the early days of the pandemic. The auto industry has been particularly hard hit, with many automakers resorting to shipping vehicles without their full suite of electronics.

    See also: F-150 Plant Will Shut Down Due to Semiconductor Shortage

    According to Reuters, Toyota is now forced to reduce its June production by 100,000, bringing the total number of vehicles slated for June to 850,000. The recent COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai has also impacted the company, causing additional supply issues.

    This isn’t the first time Toyota has had to cut production as a result of supply chain issues. In September 2021, the company had to cut production by 40%.

    Interestingly, the company has not altered its plan to produce 9.7 million vehicles globally by March 2023.

  • Volkswagen May Have Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew in Race With Tesla

    Volkswagen May Have Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew in Race With Tesla

    Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess is now admitting his goal of toppling Tesla as the world’s number one electric vehicle (EV) automaker by 2025 may be a bit ambitious.

    Diess had previously committed Volkswagen to becoming the world’s number one EV automaker by 2025, counting on the depth of Volkswagen’s lineup to help it achieve that goal. According to Reuters, Dies now admits that it’s going to be a tougher task than he originally anticipated, given the lead Tesla has.

    “It will be a tight race but we won’t give up on it,” Diess said at the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference. “I have to say we didn’t expect our main U.S. competitor to be so fast and well-prepared.”

    Volkswagen’s challenges are not likely to improve anytime soon, with Tesla opening its first Gigafactory in Germany in early 2022.

  • Samsung Preparing to Raise Chip Prices

    Samsung Preparing to Raise Chip Prices

    Samsung is reportedly preparing to raise chip prices, a move that could significantly impact the price of smartphones and other electronics.

    Samsung is one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers, with its chips widely used in the smartphone and electronics industry. In addition to its own line of Exynos chips, the company provides foundry services for customers throughout the industry. According to Bloomberg, Samsung is now talking with its foundry clients about the possibility of raising prices as much as 20%.

    The move follows a similar one by TSMC that was reported last year. TSMC implemented one of its biggest price hikes in a decade, in an effort to stave off rising costs and continue its investments in next-gen technology.

    Samsung following suit is no real surprise, as the semiconductor industry has been rocked by the pandemic, supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine.

    “This is an inevitable move for Samsung,” said said Masahiro Wakasugi, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “Some customers may accept higher prices if they can get chips earlier than others,” he said.

  • Shopify Takes Aim at Walmart and Amazon With Deliverr Purchase

    Shopify Takes Aim at Walmart and Amazon With Deliverr Purchase

    Coming off of strong growth during the pandemic, Shopify has announced a deal to acquire Deliverr, a move that will help it combat Walmart and Amazon.

    Shopify is one of the leading online shopping platforms, but it has to compete with more traditional businesses as well. The company is obviously doing well, bringing in $1.2 billion in revenue in Q122, a 22% increase. Shopify is now building on that momentum with a deal to acquire Deliverr.

    “While we’ve experienced massive macro shifts since the start of the pandemic, the one mainstay has been that Shopify is the commerce platform of choice for merchants in any environment, with the ability to support commerce on any surface,” said Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s President. “This has earned Shopify significant merchant trust and the ability to help them with more parts of their business, which is why we are eager to bring Deliverr’s team and technology to our merchants.”

    The move will help Shopify provide the logistics supplier infrastructure its customers need.

    Deliverr’s asset-light infrastructure complements and extends the reach of Shopify’s network of large-capacity, self-operated hubs, and enhances affordable access to a two-day delivery promise in the U.S. across all channels. With Deliverr, Shopify strengthens its ability to offer merchants simplified inventory management, demand-driven inventory balancing, and fast delivery from coast to coast, with minimal inventory required. Deliverr, which ships over a million orders per month across the U.S., has already benefited thousands of merchants, many of whom use Shopify, as the hyper-fragmented market of freight forwarders, transportation providers, and 3rd-party logistics companies can be overwhelming for users.

  • Nvidia May Use Intel’s Foundry Services

    Nvidia May Use Intel’s Foundry Services

    Intel may score a major foundry customer in the form of Nvidia, one of the biggest semiconductor purchasers in the industry.

    Intel has been working overtime to reinvent itself under CEO Pat Gelsinger. Gelsinger is intent on bringing the company back to its roots as a chipmaker, first and foremost. In addition to its own chips, Intel is investing heavily in foundries aimed at manufacturing chips for other companies. Many of the biggest names in tech, including Apple, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and AMD, rely on outside companies to manufacture their semiconductors, making Intel one of the only companies that provides the entire range of services, from design to production.

    Nvidia may be interested in diversifying its manufacturing, instead of relying solely on TSMC and Samsung, according to Bloomberg.

    “We’re very open-minded to considering Intel,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said. “Foundry discussions take a long time. It’s not just about desire. We’re not buying milk here.”

    At the same time, Huang cautioned that Intel had a challenging road ahead of it if it wants to successfully compete with the two Asian firms.

    “Being a foundry at the caliber of TSMC is not for the faint-hearted,” he added. “TSMC dances with the operations of 300 companies worldwide.”

    Gelsinger has made no secret of his desire to compete at that level, and all indications are that Intel is certainly headed in that direction. Nonetheless, given the company’s recent quality and supply chain issues in recent years, Intel will have to deliver on its promises if it wants to gain serious traction in the market.

  • Intel Announces Plans to Invest Up to $80 Billion in EU Chip-Making

    Intel Announces Plans to Invest Up to $80 Billion in EU Chip-Making

    Intel has announced its latest expansion effort, planning to spend up to $80 billion in chip-making in Europe.

    Intel has been expanding at a record pace, announcing new factories and foundries in multiple US locations. The company is now taking that expansion to Europe in an effort to help insulate the EU from chip shortages over the next decade.

    “Our planned investments are a major step both for Intel and for Europe,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel. “The EU Chips Act will empower private companies and governments to work together to drastically advance Europe’s position in the semiconductor sector. This broad initiative will boost Europe’s R&D innovation and bring leading-edge manufacturing to the region for the benefit of our customers and partners around the world. We are committed to playing an essential role in shaping Europe’s digital future for decades to come.”

    The expansion will begin with a $19 billion (17 billion euro) investment that will include a “semiconductor fab mega-site in Germany, to create a new R&D and design hub in France, and to invest in R&D, manufacturing and foundry services in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain. “

    The initial investment will create 7,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs at Intel. In addition, tens of thousands of jobs will be created from the supporting companies and industries that will spring up to support the new factories.

  • Dealers Beware: Ford Will Withhold Inventory From Those That Gauge Customers

    Dealers Beware: Ford Will Withhold Inventory From Those That Gauge Customers

    Ford CEO Jim Farley is laying down the law, warning dealers the company will withhold inventory from those that gouge customers.

    Automakers around the world are struggling with a shortage of semiconductors and components, leading to constrained inventory. Some dealerships have responded by trying to take advantage of the situation, charging customers exorbitant prices.

    The practice hasn’t gone unnoticed by the powers that be at Ford, according to Bloomberg. In fact, Farley is promising such behavior will cost those dealerships.

    “We have very good intelligence of who they are and their future allocation of product will be directly impacted because of that policy,” CEO Jim Farley said Thursday on a conference call with analysts. “We have about 10% of our dealers last year in the supply constrained environment that we’re in charging above MSRP to the best of our knowledge.”

    Any time there is constrained supply, there are always those who would take advantage of people. Hats off to Farley and Ford for cracking down on such behavior.

  • Right to Repair Moves to Farm Tractors

    Right to repair movements often target the tech industry, but a recent Senate bill puts the farm equipment industry squarely in its sights.

    As equipment of all types has become more complicated, the end user is often left paying for expensive repairs, with self-repair almost impossible. A number of laws and bills have been introduced to target this in the electronics industry, but the farm industry continues to suffer the same issues.

    “I visited with my local mechanic and asked which tractor he could fix, and it was a 1995 one,” Scott Potmesil, a fourth-generation farmer, told NBC News. “New equipment is getting so complicated and loaded with sensors. If one of them goes out, you can’t even start your tractor. You need a technician and software to identify the problem.”

    The Senate has introduced a bill designed to tackle this problem. Sponsor, Sen. Jon Tester, believes the bill will be a significant help to farmers, reducing costs and helping them stay operational.

    “We’ve got to figure out ways to empower farmers to make sure they can stay on the land. This is one of the ways to do it,” Tester said. “I think that the more we can empower farmers to be able to control their own destiny, which is what this bill does, the safer food chains are going to be.”