Whirlpool creates value for consumers by offering products at every step of the digital journey, says Global Chief Information Officer Michael Heim. "By shifting our mindset to this consumer journey, we can differentiate ourselves in the marketplace," he says.

McKiney Manufacturing and Sales in Nebraska was able to overcome stagnant demand for hydraulic hoses and enter new markets by purchasing a tube-bending system. The system allows the company to quickly produce custom parts for clients in the oil and gas industry.

Tyson Foods has for years been growing its production of packaged and prepared foods, such as nuggets and breakfast sandwiches, to obtain more stable revenue and respond to market conditions. Fifty Tyson plants in the US process an estimated 37 million chickens per week.

Supply chains need to measure performance, benchmark it against key performance indicators and share that data across the organization if they hope to identify and solve efficiency issues, writes Martin Verwijmeren, CEO of MP Objects. "If you're only accruing and analyzing data in silos, you're not realizing the full potential of your network," he notes.

Food processors are using industrial internet of things-equipped sensors to gather data and offer predictive maintenance for motors and drive equipment, writes Sharon Spielman. "Everyone is trying to close that loop--insights for end-users and for OEMs to improve their equipment's reliability," says Jim Henry of SKF USA.

Manufacturers can prepare for natural disasters by garnering detailed recommendations from insurers, creating continuity plans and being diligent about logging post-disaster information, writes Katherine Klosowski.

Only 0.7% of employees in the Netherlands leave their job each year because of automation, according to a Boston University research paper. "The burden that automation places on workers is less than the burden created by mass layoffs and plant closings that arise from things like declining demand or bankruptcies," write James Bessen and James Kossuth.

Similar to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund cut its global economic forecast slightly. The IMF now expects worldwide growth to expand by 3.5% in 2019, down from its estimate of 3.7% growth in October. Meanwhile, the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI registered 50.7 in January, down from 51.4 in December and signaling the slowest growth rate since August 2016. The headline index has decelerated since reaching a seven-year high in December 2017 (54.5), even with slight positive expansion overall. Reports also suggested that manufacturing activity in Canada, the Eurozone and Japan also grew at their weakest paces since mid-2016, and China weakened further in January after contracting in December for the first time since May 2017. Similarly, the IHS Markit Emerging Markets Manufacturing PMI contracted in January for the first time since June 2016. Overall activity in the emerging markets weakened across the year, weighed down by softer global growth and a strong US dollar. Read more.