Paper and label shortages hitting industries around the world mark the latest chapter of disruption in two turbulent years for global supply chains – from the blockage of the Suez Canal to the ‘pingdemic’ and shortage of drivers that resulted.

Businesses that depend on a steady supply of paper and labels now face a supply chain with potential bottlenecks. As with any supply chain shortage, companies need to prepare business continuity plans and effective demand forecasting. But with paper and labels becoming a scarce commodity, companies can take other more immediate steps to ensure they can do more with less material.

For example, eliminating waste by tackling unnecessary callbacks and printing errors. FDA figures show that labeling and packaging errors account for between 35-40% of all recall issues – now there is a significant opportunity to address this issue and avoid waste one step earlier in the process. the factory printing process.

Most labeling and packaging errors occur when factory printing solutions are disconnected from upstream processes. This places a heavy reliance on the individual knowledge of print operators to follow manual processes and leaves large margins for human error, even for experienced operators. For example, simply manually entering a batch number or expiration date incorrectly by a single character can have a huge impact.

These errors – and the associated waste – can be avoided simply by deploying an intelligent end-to-end system to manage product labels, assets and factory printing. An advanced solution will capture printer locations, types and ports they use, giving the system a holistic view of all available printing resources. Companies can then centrally manage all labeling content. They will know label sizes and print quality requirements, which will help to consistently select the correct printer and settings for each label, effectively eliminating the risk of operator error and reducing waste.

Let’s see this in action. Teleflex, a multinational medical device manufacturer, benefits from advanced labeling and artwork management capabilities through the Kallik Veraciti system. Teleflex has reduced product recall issues to zero since its implementation. How? ‘Or’ What? Its standardized tagging process incorporates powerful features such as a dedicated asset search engine, improved translation management, and end-to-end approval and audit trails, significantly reducing the risk of misuse. labeling resulting in product recalls.

As supply chain disruptions continue to be felt, end-to-end digital management solutions will be essential to ensure businesses have the visibility needed to achieve this low-recall, low-waste vision, while benefiting from additional benefits in terms of operational efficiency.

About the Author: Bob Tilling is Vice President of Global Sales at Kallik.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden recounted a flawed Democratic talking point on guns in his first State of the Union address, made his electric vehicle plan more advanced than he expected. is and has inflated the scope of its infrastructure set. On several fronts, he presented ambitions as achievements.

A look at some of his claims Tuesday night and a look at the Republican response:

COVID-19[female[feminine

BIDEN: “Severe cases have fallen to a level not seen since July of last year.”

THE FACTS: Biden overstated the improvement, omitting a statistic that remains a worrying marker of the COVID-19 toll.

While hospitalizations are indeed down from last summer, deaths remain high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID tracker shows 289 deaths on July 1, 2021. As of Monday, the CDC tracker reported 1,985 deaths.

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SHOTGUNS

BIDEN, calling on Congress to pass measures it believes would reduce gun violence: “Repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that cannot be sued, the only one. “

THE FACTS: This is false. Although gun manufacturers enjoy legal protection against liability for injuries caused by the criminal misuse of their guns through the Protection of the Lawful Arms Trade Act 2005, they do not are neither exempt nor immune. to be prosecuted.

The law provides exceptions in which manufacturers or dealers can be held liable for damage caused by their guns, such as defects or damage in the design of the gun, negligence, or breach of contract or warranty regarding the gun. buying a gun.

Families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, sued gun maker Remington, alleging ‘unlawful dealing’ in firearms, and agreed to a settlement last month of $73 million.

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ECONOMY

BIDEN, promoting its $1 trillion infrastructure bill: “We are done talking about infrastructure weeks. We are now talking about a decade of infrastructure. … We will build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

THE FACTS: Not so fast.

Bipartisan legislation approved by Congress ended up providing only half of the $15 billion Biden had envisioned to fulfill a campaign promise of 500,000 charging stations by 2030.

Biden’s Build Back Better proposal aimed to fill the void by adding billions to pay for charging stations. But Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., in December declared that bill dead in its current form due to cost.

Administration officials now say the infrastructure law will help “pave the way” for up to 500,000 charging points by 2030. That’s different from charging stations, which could have multiple charging points. sale. They say private investment could help fill the void. There are currently over 100,000 electric vehicle outlets in the United States

The Department of Transportation’s plan calls for states to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations that would place new or upgraded ones every 50 miles along interstate highways. The $5 billion in federal money over five years relies on the cooperation of sprawling rural communities in the United States, which are less likely to own electric vehicles due to their generally higher price.

States are expected to begin construction as early as the fall.

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BIDEN, on Intel’s plans for new factories in central Ohio: “Up to eight state-of-the-art factories in one location, 10,000 new jobs.”

THE FACTS: His statement is premature. That many factories are not imminent and may or may not be built.

Earlier this year, Intel announced the opening of two factories that are expected to employ 3,000 people. The other 7,000 jobs that the project should create are temporary jobs in the construction sector. It also plans a chip foundry business that manufactures chips designed by other companies. Construction is expected to begin this year.

Intel has floated the possibility of building up to six more factories over the next decade, which could bring the total number of factory workers to 10,000. But that’s just a prospect, years from now. .

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BIDEN: “The pandemic has also disrupted the global supply chain… Look at the cars last year. A third of all inflation was due to automobile sales. There weren’t enough semiconductors to make all the cars people wanted to buy. And guess what? Automobile prices have skyrocketed…so we have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I think I have a better idea for fighting inflation. Reduce your costs, not your salaries. People, that means making more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America… Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s do it in America.

THE FACTS: It is dubious to suggest that more domestic manufacturing means less inflation.

Manufactured goods made overseas, especially in countries like China or Mexico where wages are lower, are generally less expensive than goods made in the United States.

Biden is also overemphasizing supply chain disruptions from abroad as a factor in the worst inflation in four decades. While these issues have indeed been a major factor in driving up costs, inflation is increasingly showing up in other areas, such as rent and restaurant meals, which reflect the rapidly growing economy. and wages over the past year and not a global supply bottleneck. These trends should continue to push prices higher even as supply chains recover.

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INFRASTRUCTURE LAW

BIDEN on infrastructure bill: ‘The biggest investment in history was a bipartisan effort.’

THE FACTS: No, it wasn’t that historic.

Biden’s infrastructure bill was large, adding $550 billion in new spending for roads, bridges and high-speed internet over five years. But measured as a proportion of the US economy, it’s slightly lower than the 1.36% of the nation’s gross domestic product that was spent on infrastructure, on average, during the first four years of the New Deal, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution.. It is even lower than the roughly 2% spent on infrastructure in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE

GOVERNMENT OF IOWA. KIM REYNOLDS, criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and bragging about Republican governors’ attention to the issue: “We actually went to the border – something that our president and our vice president don’t haven’t done since taking office.

THE FACTS: This is not true. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the border last year. Biden is not gone yet.

Harris visited a Customs and Border Protection processing center in El Paso, Texas, and met migrant children there. She also stopped at a reception center at the border and had a chat with local community organizations.

The half-day trip in June came after months of criticism from Republicans and some members of his own party over his and Biden’s absence from the border at a time when immigration officials have recorded a record number of encounters with migrants attempting to cross into the United States.

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Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Amanda Seitz in Washington, David Klepper in Providence, Rhode Island, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Karena Phan in New York contributed to this report.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — A look at the veracity of politicians’ claims.

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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

Norwegian oil group Equinor and German Daimler Truck are ending partnerships with Russian firms while Volvo said it was halting car deliveries to the country as the trade fallout from the Ukraine invasion wears off propagate.

The announcements come as multinational groups operating in Russia grapple with the reputational impact of their association with the country as well as potential exposure to Western sanctions designed to inflict severe economic hardship.

Renault also said on Monday it was suspending operations at one of its Russian factories for a week as the automaker grapples with a supply chain disruption.

A day earlier, BP said it was selling its nearly 20% stake in Rosneft after chairman Helge Lund called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “an act of aggression that has tragic consequences across the region. “.

Equinor said it was “coming out” of joint ventures in Russia that include a strategic partnership with state oil group Rosneft encompassing projects across Siberia.

Anders Opedal, Managing Director of Equinor, said: “In the current situation, we consider our position to be untenable. We will now stop new investments in our Russian business and we will begin the process of exiting our joint ventures in a way that is consistent with our values.

He said Equinor, which is two-thirds owned by the Norwegian government, was “deeply disturbed” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Daimler Truck, the world’s largest truckmaker, said it had taken the decision to “immediately suspend all our business activities in Russia” even though its contract with local automaker Kamaz limits cooperation to the manufacture of civilian vehicles. On the other hand, Kamaz, which was created under the Soviet Union, manufactures utility vehicles for the Russian armed forces.

Volvo Cars specifically cited the impact of financial sanctions from the West saying it “will not deliver any cars to the Russian market until further notice”. The decision is due to “potential risks associated with trading materials with Russia, including sanctions imposed by the EU and the United States.”

Truck maker Volvo, which is independent of the automaker, has also halted production at its sole plant in Russia and sales in the country until further notice, the group said on Monday, citing the risk of sanctions.

Following warnings from other automakers that they may struggle to transport components to and from Russia, Renault said it has temporarily closed its Moscow plant, which produces models such as the Renault Captur and its Arkana SUVs, due to supply chain issues.

Another factory of the French group operated by its Russian company Avtovaz also halted production on Monday, but that was due to shortages of semiconductors, a spokesman said. Manufacturing was to resume there on Tuesday.

Russia is the Renault group’s second-largest market by sales volume, while Avtovaz accounted for around 7% of its overall revenue last year.

Equinor said it plans to take business-related writedowns. The company has had a presence in Russia for more than 30 years and expanded its partnership with Rosneft in 2020, paying $550 million to acquire a 49% stake in a dozen exploration and production licenses in Eastern Siberia.

Equinor’s current production in Russia is modest at just 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day compared to a total of around 2 million barrels per day for its group. It has 70 employees in Russia.

The Norwegian government on Sunday ordered its $1.3 billion oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, to drop its $3 billion in Russian investments.

Daimler Truck’s decision is unlikely to have a big impact on its profits, as the truck maker only sells a few thousand units in Russia each year.

Mercedes-Benz AG, which in its previous form of Daimler AG was the parent company of Daimler Truck, said it was also considering selling a 15% stake in Kamaz.

Manufacturing Wales today announced Heather Anstey-Myers as its new CEO.

The collaborative, industry-led consortium is at the heart of efforts to help Welsh manufacturers build supply chain resilience, maximize sourcing opportunities and promote the country’s world-class manufacturing credentials .

Anstey-Myers joins Manufacturing Wales having recently stepped down as CEO of Chambers Wales. At Chambers Wales, she led a huge transformation to inject a business culture and refocus on customer driven market demand to better support Welsh SMEs. She has also ensured that he has a voice that can influence the most senior decision-makers in international economic, trade and trade policy.

She was previously CEO of the highly acclaimed Abergavenny Food Festival – one of the UK’s largest – where she presented an award-winning showcase for the Welsh food and drink sector.

She has also worked as a senior local authority official, leading organizational change, reviewing decision-making and carrying out a range of building restoration and civil engineering projects.

Heather Anstey-Myers said:

“It is a great privilege for me to champion and sustain Welsh manufacturing by joining Manufacturing Wales as CEO.

“Manufacturing Wales has integrity and pedigree because it was set up by Welsh manufacturers to offer solutions to the complex needs and challenges they face. No one knows how to support and grow Welsh manufacturing better than the manufacturers themselves. That’s why, as a membership organization, it’s really unique in Wales, and why I’m so excited to start supporting them.

About her focus on the role of CEO, she said:

“I want to secure stronger sourcing opportunities and connect manufacturing companies to secure joint ventures to maximize their potential to win contracts.

“Working with the Industry Council, I will continue to organize industry-focused events and manufacturing-relevant factory tours and ensure that we work with our academic partners to provide direct links to R&D facilities, attracting talent to work in manufacturing and promoting our produce success stories at scale through our partnership with Business News Wales.

“By developing and growing strong manufacturing networks across Wales, I will help support each other, offering advice from trusted partners connecting our members to academia and serving as a gateway to new markets, including the international market via our partner Global Welsh.

“That’s what makes Manufacturing Wales a truly compelling proposition that Welsh manufacturers can connect to. And who wouldn’t want to be part of it?

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) is one of the largest P&C insurance companies in the country. Although the P&C insurance industry is highly fragmented and competitive, its unique nature allows insurers to realize economic benefits. The industry has shown positive results despite struggling with a return from non-catastrophic losses to pre-pandemic losses. Travelers is an elite player in the industry, with healthy underwriting profits and investment income providing the foundation for creating shareholder value. Management’s interests are aligned with those of investors and they have returned money to investors in the form of dividends and share buybacks at aggressive rates. Travelers’ free cash flow is substantial and supports the company’s dividend and stock buyback program. Free cash flow is also undervalued, as well as the company as a whole.

Insurance: where competition does not harm profitability

Peter Thiel rightly argues that “competition is for losers”. Competition pushes returns toward the cost of capital, making it difficult, if not impossible, to create economic value. At first glance, the insurance industry should be a very unprofitable industry. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Travelers is the sixth largest P&C insurance company in the United States, with just 3.96% market share. The insurance industry is highly fragmented. The NAIC’s 2020 Market Share Report lists 125 leading P&C insurers offering products and services across all lines.

Among travelers Filing 10-K 2021, they cite statistics from AM Best showing that there are about 1,100 P&C insurance groups in the United States, comprising about 2,600 P&C insurance companies. In 2020, the top 150 insurers account for around 94% of the sector’s total net premiums written. If competition is for losers, then on the face of it, the insurance industry is an industry of losers.

However, the insurance sector is unique. Insurance is required by law, so the business tends to be relatively stable. Regardless of the economic cycle, individuals and businesses need insurance. This gives insurers pricing power that they would not otherwise have.

Insurance products lack real differentiation. Success is earned through a combination of agent referrals, cost, and brand awareness. Agent referrals are important because most people get their insurance through an agent. Insurers need agents to run business as they please. Because differentiation doesn’t really exist, insurers need to be able to price their products at lower rates than their competitors. Brand awareness is important because insurance is about trust and strong brands tell consumers they can trust the insurer.

P&C insurance recovers from the pandemic

The sector posted good premium growth and strong financial results in 2021, despite the disruptions the sector has suffered.

The industry has accelerated its adoption of new technologies, spurred by the pandemic and the need to adapt to supply chain disruptions. These innovations aim to help insurers improve their pricing policies, improve their efficiency and reduce their costs.

According to Aon (NYSE: AON), total premium growth in the first nine months of the year was 9.5%, up 7.3 points from the same period in 2020. Commercial lines increased by 9.8 %, compared to personal lines which increased by 4.8%. As the economy recovered, the sector also saw growth in commercial and personal autos as well as workers’ compensation. Travelers is the market leader in workers’ compensation, with 6.84% of the market. It is also the second largest insurer in total commercial auto, with a market share of 6.22%. It is the tenth largest passenger car insurer overall, with a market share of 1.96%.

The industry has experienced a Net underwriting loss of $5.6 billion due to a return of non-catastrophic losses to pre-pandemic levels. However, the industry’s net income grew 8% in the first nine months of 2021, from $35.5 billion in 2020 to $43.5 billion in 2021, fueling surplus growth. 73% politics. The total expense ratio remained at 38.4%.

Aon’s reports also show that direct loss ratios across most lines in the first nine months of 2021 were lower than in the same period a year earlier.

The path to profitability

According to Travelers Fourth Quarter 2021 Results, in 2021, Travelers had a loss and loss adjustment ratio of 65.1%, unchanged from 2021, and an underwriting expense ratio of 29.4%, compared to 29.9% in 2020, for a combined ratio of 94.5% compared to 95% the previous year. As an indication, according to a report from Veriskthe P&C insurance industry had a combined ratio of 99.5% in the first nine months of 2021.

An insurer derives its income from its underwriting and investment activities. Premiums paid by policyholders constitute a float that insurers can use to invest. Underwriting profits arise when the insurer receives more in premiums than it pays in claims.

Travelers earns a profit from its underwriting activities and invests those profits in a portfolio consisting largely of fixed income instruments. Travelers has grown its premiums from more than $28 billion in 2018 to nearly $30.9 billion in 2021. During this period, net investment income has grown from approximately $2.5 billion to over $3 billion.

The company’s combined ratio reflects the profitability of the business and its technical margin of 5.5%.

The company’s underlying combined ratio, which represents fewer catastrophic losses, was 90.3%, showing that the company’s editorial was particularly good, having improved an already impressive underlying combined ratio of 90.7% the previous year.

The interests of management are aligned with those of shareholders

The company’s 2004 incentive plan resulted in a performance share reward program. Under this program, performance share grants are linked to the achievement of an adjusted return on equity (ROE) over a three-year period. When management does not achieve these objectives, it cannot acquire performance shares. When he reaches or exceeds these objectives, a range of performance shares is acquired (50% to 150% for grants in 2020, 50% to 200% for grants in 2021 and 2022), depending on the ROE achieved. .

Although ROE is an imperfect measure, and I prefer return on invested capital (ROIC), it is useful for aligning the interests of management with those of shareholders. By doing so, shareholders know that management will make decisions that will create value for the company, or at least aim to do so.

The History of Traveler Profitability

Travelers increased its revenue from $27.6 billion in 2016 to $34.2 billion in 2021. During this period, it increased its net operating income after taxes (NOPAT) by nearly 2.9 billion to nearly $3.6 billion.

Travelers’ NOPAT margin was 10.4% in 2016, falling to 7.9% in 2017, averaging 8.15% between 2017 and 2020, before returning to 10.4% in 2021. The results show an invested capital turnover of 1.02, showing excellent capital allocation efficiency. The combination of these two elements resulted in an improvement in ROIC from 9.7% in 2016 to 10.6% in 2021.

The profitability of travelers allows it to generate significant free cash flow (FCF). However, FCF has been erratic, growing from nearly $2.8 billion in 2016 to over $1.8 billion in 2021, for a cumulative FCF of over $10.4 billion, or 25% of its market capitalization.

Travelers’ ability to generate substantial FCF has enabled it to increase its common stock dividends for each of the last 18 yearsfrom $1.16 in 2004 to $3.49 in 2021.

The company’s FCF has always been attractively priced, which speaks to the company’s overall state of undervaluation. Significant FCF generation and attractive pricing suggest the company’s economics are strong and future stock price performance will be good. Currently, the company has an attractive FCF yield of 4.2%.

Travelers has a generous dividend payout ratio of 24.24%, which reflects its ability to grow without major investments. The company’s FCF can support the company’s dividend policy, which currently yields 2.04%. In April 2021, the company implemented a stock repurchase authorization that added $5 billion in repurchase capacity. In 2021, Travelers repurchased 13.9 million shares under its $2.16 billion stock repurchase authorization. As of December 31, 2021, Travelers’ had $4.01 billion of capacity remaining under its stock repurchase authorization.

Evaluation

Not only is the company’s FCF attractively priced, but the company itself is undervalued. Travelers has a price/earnings ratio (P/E) of 11.77 and a 5-year P/E ratio of 14.11. In comparison, the S&P 500 has a P/E ratio of 24.87. The implication is not only that investors can buy the company at an attractive price, but that shareholders can also earn attractive returns from this same undervaluation.

Conclusion

Industry effects govern a firm’s ability to sustainably earn economic profits. Despite the competitive nature of the P&C insurance industry, the fact that it is both broadly mandated by law and essential to mitigating the risk of economic loss, makes the industry not only non-cyclical, but one in which rivals can achieve economic benefits. . Additionally, the insurance sector showed signs of recovery, despite the disruptions in the sector, as non-catastrophic losses returned to pre-pandemic levels. The result is that Travelers operates in a favorable competitive landscape. In this landscape, the company has shown its ability to grow profitably and generate returns above the opportunity cost of capital. The insurer’s profitability enables it to generate free cash flow, the price of which has been attractive on the market. Additionally, the company remains undervalued relative to the broader market, making it a very attractive stock to buy.