US factory orders climbed 1.6% in May, improving on the 0.7% gain in April and topping economists' expectations. The numbers from the Commerce Department suggest sustained strength in demand despite Federal Reserve efforts to tame inflation.

Tesla's nearly two-year stretch of record quarterly deliveries has come to an end with a 17.9% decline in the second quarter from the preceding period. The drop is attributed to pandemic-related shutdowns in China, including suspended production at Tesla's Shanghai factory.

General Mills grew sales 5% for its fiscal year ended May 29 with consumers pivoting to at-home eating due to inflation and the company's preparation for supply chain disruption, said CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening. "For instance, we were able to quickly address ingredient shortages on our US Pillsbury and Totino's business in Q3, driving a rapid rebound in our on-shelf availability," said Harmening.

Firms are increasingly expanding the role of CFOs to incentivize executives to stay. Turnover among CFOs increased to 18% in 2021 from 14% in 2019 among S&P 500 companies, and broadening responsibilities is seen as a way to "engage and recognize and motivate the very best of the best," says Joel von Ranson, head of global functional practices at Spencer Stuart, adding, "It's also a reflection of a very competitive and tight CFO market."

A zero-trust approach across all infrastructure, users and applications is essential to keep up with accelerating digital transformation and evolving threats, and reduce security complexity, writes Nir Zuk, chief technology officer at Palo Alto Networks. Once zero-trust policies are established, security teams can continuously validate them with monitoring and advanced techniques to identify gaps and security issues, Zuk writes.

Systems that bring a company into the age of the industrial internet of things can also open up wide cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Luis Narvaez from Simatic and Siemens Industry advises a layered approach to the challenge that includes securing physical and network boundaries as well as system integrity.

Just-in-time practices were a big money saver for the auto industry until the global pandemic set in and disrupted long and complex supply chains. Now with prices rising and relief uncertain and perhaps months away, some automakers are looking to reduce this vulnerability.

Finding the right tools for automation entails knowing the distinctions between supply chain automation and procurement automation, writes Madhurjya Chowdhury. Using software to automate a company's procurement operations is known as procurement automation, while automation of the supply chain is designed to increase connectivity, eliminate manual labor, and improve operational clarity.

The Umatilla School District in Oregon will open a new AWS Think Big Space in collaboration with Amazon Web Services. The new educational lab, developed with input from robotics students, is aimed at supporting STEAM instruction and will include hands-on instruction in cloud computing and advanced manufacturing.

Employees are leaving their jobs at a rate of about 4 million per month and, according to one study, there's no single explanation. A survey conducted by a team at the Fund for Our Economic Future found some contributing factors, most notably work environment, something that manufacturers can address by opening a dialogue with employees and offering such things as a more inviting culture and improved benefits.