Amazon is leading the charge to reshape how the logistics industry operates by using automation and robotics. More and more, consumers are dictating logistics operations by their ever-shortening demand for fast and convenient everything. Amazon has set this bar high and consumers don’t want anything less than Amazon-fast. Logistics is becoming ever more data-driven as a response to this increasing demand for faster response, faster delivery and flawless execution.

Continuous improvement has long been an important part of staying competitive in manufacturing. As product life cycles become shorter and the number of new product proliferation grows, there is an increased need for continuous improvement.

Some of the new trends in manufacturing that are being embraced include additive manufacturing, cloud-based systems, rapid design and super-fast prototyping, and crowd-sourcing. Here are just a few ways these trends will help factories implement continuous improvement across their supply chains.