Just like that and 2016 is behind us.
Happy New Year readers of the Strategic Sourceror and friends of Source One!
It seems like every year just keeps going by quicker in quicker. In retrospect; 2016 might be remembered as one of the more notable years of significance over the last decade. Whether you are Pro-Trump, Anti-Hillary, so upset you can cry (or have already) or if you are completely indifferent, the 2016 election year was a wild ride. And Gen-X-ers and Baby Boomers have had an equally challenging year now that we had a slew of notable entertainers unfortunately pass away before their expected lifespans. Samsung phones (the best phone I ever owned by the way) and washing machines threatened to burn down your homes. In a year that "fake news" and "truth" dominated the headlines, there was some positives; both in the business world and in the 'real world.
2016 wasn't all bad, it really wasn't at all. Let's have a look:
Human Health:- Child mortality is down globally
- Extreme poverty, on a global basis, is decreasing.
- A new gene was discovered as part of ALS, partially due to funding from the Ice Bucket Challenge.
- Pokemon Go proved that you can mix gaming and exercise
- Ebola was eradicated from West Africa
- Star Wars had success with a new story line without recycling old characters
- The Cubs broke the curse
- Stranger Things was renewed for a second season by Netflix
- Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian of all time
- Two competitors showed the true spirit of the Olympics, Abbey D'Agostino of USA and Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand, helped each other to the finish line and won an extremely rare award; the Fair Play Award.
- Gas prices stayed low all year.
- Home mortgage rates were at a historical low, averaging 3.79% - more spending money (according to Bankratecom)
- Airfares went down (according to Hopper,.com)
- U.S. House Prices went up
- Tigers, manatees, and certain Parrots all made a slight population recovery.
- Pandas were taken off the endangered species list
- The ozone hole is shrinking (but still needs help)
- The Juno spacecraft reached Jupiter
- The Mars 'Opportunity' Rover has now been sending us data for 13 years, and has traveled nearly 30 miles... on another planet!
- Pluto is no longer a planet (again), but a newly discovered 9th planet might still be out there
- We found another earth-like planet about 4 light years away. And as soon as Elon figures out warp drive; we'll have a new vacation spot!
- US high school graduation rate is at an all time high.
- Autonomous driving had multiple first successes, including Uber rides and cross-country unmanned trucking deliveries.
- Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX made reusable rockets a thing.
And how about the business world?
Well, overall, the U.S. economy is strong and growing again. While Brexit still is an open issue, the current world economy hasn't reacted as poorly as many thought.
And as for procurement, strategic sourcing, and supply chain.
Well, let's have a look at what were our hottest new topics and articles posted on StrategicSourceror in 2016:
- Matt Chabanon, a direct materials sourcing expert at Source One, discusses The Aerospace Supply Chain Revolution.
- Tatiana Scripnic, a strategic sourcing analyst interviews Kathryn E. Wengel, Wordlwide Vice President and Supply Chain Officer at Johnson & Johnson on breaking the 'Glass Ceiling'
- Risk Management in the Supply Chain is always a hot topic
- The Staples - Office Depot merger continued to gain interest and debate right up until it was struck down, as highlighted by Jennifer Engel
- Brexit was a huge concern of avid supply chain news watchers
- And who can forget the Pokemon Go craze. Megan Connell, a marketing sourcing expert discusses its impact on the Digital Landscape.
If 2016 was bad for you, I hope 2017 is better. If 2016 was good to you, I hope 2017 gets even better.
Happy New Year,
-WRD
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