Datex Blog 

Oil Demand Declines and World Begins Shift to Zero-Carbon Energy Sources Along with a myriad of other changes this year, there has been a notable shift downward in the demand for oil.  With the COVID-19 pandemic, American oil prices actually were negative for the...

Across a variety of industries from flowers and food and beverage to pharmaceuticals, film, chemicals and other temperature sensitive goods, companies across the supply chain have turned to public cold storage warehouses to properly and safely handle, store and ship...

Can Smartphones Dangling from Trees Give Amazon Contractor Delivery Drivers an Edge? If you are in the suburbs of Chicago and wonder why you see smartphones dangling from trees near Amazon.com Inc. delivery stations and Whole Foods stores, you are probably wondering...

It is widely known that developing new drugs is an incredibly costly, time consuming venture that requires millions of dollars and years of effort, but that is only the beginning of the story.  Innovation and breakthroughs in medical science do not necessarily ensure...

Amazon Provides Seamless Service via Amazon Fresh Grocery Store Amazon announced that it has designed a grocery store from the ground up to provide a seamless shopping experience for consumers who are shopping either online or in a brick and mortar store.  The new...

Over a period of several decades, the pharmaceutical industry has shifted, transitioning towards a practice of outsourcing not only manufacturing and packaging but also essential services including drug commercialization, e-pedigree services, product launch and so...

Booming Times for Package Carriers Leads to Peak Season Rate Increases With consumers heavily dependent upon shipping carriers UPS, USPS and FedEx, two of the carriers aggressively hiked peak-season fees.  FedEx recently followed the lead of UPS and USPS to capture...

Lo-Calorie Whodunit:  What Happened to All the Fresca? By now, Americans have come to accept that there will be a snafu or two with respect to toilet paper, meat, cleaning supplies and some other goods, but Fresca?  It seems beyond belief. Yes, it is true.  For those...

What Is Postponement Packaging? Also known as late-stage customization, the term postponement packaging refers to the supply chain practice of retaining a product in a standardized format for as long as possible.  This involves making the drug product packaging...

Pharmaceutical manufacturing organizations label and package all kinds of drug products every year and do so with increasing levels of complexity.  From adding package inserts that focus on patient compliance, to blister packs, closure systems, plastic containers with...

Food and Beverage Businesses Report that Innovative Partnerships Are Holding Industry Together The ability to be flexible and to notice potential opportunities has helped to forge new relationships and business models in the food industry.  Companies that had operated...

General Mills Ramps Up Production by Outsourcing Supply chain disruptions have made it challenging for food manufacturers to replenish stores, even though production facilities have reopened and are working at full capacity.  General Mills has reached out to contract...

Social Distancing Software in Use at Amazon Warehouses Amazon has put Distance Assistant, an innovative software designed to track if employees are effectively social distancing while at work in some of its warehouses.  The new software uses camera footage displayed...

If there is one thing that businesses should have learned from the COVID-19 global pandemic is that their companies need to be agile enough to “roll with the punches”.  Grocery store retailers have seen the light.  Consumers, pushed by the pressure to remain safely at...

Why has the issue of how grocery supply chains work captivated the public?  Because during the recent global pandemic, consumers have come face-to-face with this issue on a nearly weekly basis.  From shortages of toilet paper and meat to shelf stable favorites,...

Special Thank You to These U.S. Manufacturers for Stepping Up to Produce Essentials Like PPE and Ventilators Before the coronavirus global pandemic, most personal protective equipment (PPE) was manufactured outside the United States, making these essential goods...

New CPG Contactless Delivery Task Force Launched The Consumer Brands Association announced the launch of a major industry effort focused on contactless delivery.  The task force includes representation from 23 consumer packaged goods companies and will: Study the...

With its significant investment in biomedical research, the United States is one of the foremost leaders worldwide in drug discovery, research and development, however, it is no longer as prominent in drug manufacturing.  Over the past few decades, drug manufacturers...

Digital Transformation and Ability to Handle Omnichannel E-commerce Helps Retailers Wreaking havoc throughout the supply chain and retail industries, COVID-19 has rocked the boat for both online sales and brick and mortal retailers.  The big box retailers that already...

Pocket Change Shortage Linked to Coronavirus Chalk this up to the law of unintended consequences.  Apparently, there is now a coin shortage in the United States.  Not only has COVID-19 disrupted retail supply chains but also the flow and distribution of currency,...