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SUPPLY CHAIN SPARE CAPACITY INCREASES FOR 3RD CONSECUTIVE MONTH AND NOW AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE JULY 2023 AS GLOBAL ECONOMIC WEAKNESS INTENSIFIES: GEP GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY INDEX

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North America factory purchasing activity deteriorates more quickly in September, with demand at its weakest year-to-date, signaling a quickly slowing U.S. economyFactory procurement activity in China fell for a third straight month, and devastation from Typhoon Yagi hit vendors feeding Southeast Asian markets like VietnamEurope’s industrial recession deepens, leading to an even larger increase in supplier spare capacity

CLARK, N.J., Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index — a leading indicator tracking demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories and backlogs based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses — decreased in September to -0.43 (August: -0.37), its lowest level in 14 months and indicating the greatest level of global supply chain spare capacity since July 2023.

The rise in underutilized vendor capacity was driven by a further deterioration in global demand. Factory purchasing activity was at its weakest in the year-to-date, with procurement trends in all major continents worsening in September and signaling gloomier prospects for economies heading into Q4.

Notably, supplier spare capacity shot up again in North America. U.S. manufacturers lowered their purchasing volumes aggressively in September, with a slowing of the U.S. economy denting factory orders. 

In Asia, supply chain spare capacity also rose to a year-to-date high. Slowing economic conditions in other parts of the globe led factory procurement activity in China to fall for a third straight month in September. There was also the devasting impact of Typhoon Yagi across Southeast Asia. Vietnam was affected in particular, causing vendor supplying this part of the region to suffer as a result.

Europe’s industrial recession intensified, reflecting the blight of major manufacturers in the continent due to macro factors like competitive pressures from China, high energy costs and a flagging eurozone economy.  

“September is the fourth straight month of declining demand and the third month running that the world’s supply chains have spare capacity, as manufacturing becomes an increasing drag on the major economies,” explained Jagadish Turimella, president, GEP. “With the potential of a widening war in the Middle East impacting oil, and the possibility of more tariffs and trade barriers in the new year, manufacturers should prioritize agility and resilience in their procurement and supply chains.”

SEPTEMBER 2024 KEY FINDINGS

DEMAND: Global demand for raw materials, commodities and other intermediate goods deteriorated more quickly in September, reflecting a stronger downturn in procurement activity across many major global economies, such as the U.S., China and Germany.INVENTORIES: In September, reports of stockpiling due to price or supply concerns remained below the long-term average.MATERIAL SHORTAGES: The item shortages indicator fell to its lowest level since January 2020, indicating improved global raw material availability as factories retrench.LABOR SHORTAGES: Reports of staff shortages leading to a rise in backlogs at manufacturers were in line with historically typical levels in September. This indicates that labor supply is generally capable of meeting demand.TRANSPORTATION: Global transportation costs once again dipped in September and were the lowest since July 2023.  

REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY

NORTH AMERICA: Index fell to a 15-month low of -0.78, from -0.62, signaling a further increase in spare vendor capacity. The U.S. market drove this, with the economyslowing ahead of the presidential election. EUROPE: Index fell to a nine-month low of -0.74, from -0.53, indicating a further intensification of the continent’s industrial downturn. Germany continues to pull other parts of the region down with it. U.K.: Index fractionally rose to -0.12, from -0.14. The U.K. is demonstrating some resilience to wider global economic headwinds — partly reflecting an ongoing post-election bounce. ASIA: Index at a year-to-date low of -0.36, down from -0.07, signalling the highest level of spare vendor capacity since December 2023. In addition to a slowing Chinese market, Typhoon Yagi dented supplier activity in Southeast Asia.

For more information, visit www.gep.com/volatility.

Note: Full historical data dating back to January 2005 is available for subscription. Please contact economics@spglobal.com.

The next release of the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index will be 8 a.m. ET, Nov. 12, 2024.

About the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index 
The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index is produced by S&P Global and GEP. It is derived from S&P Global’s PMI® surveys, sent to companies in over 40 countries, totaling around 27,000 companies. The headline figure is a weighted sum of six sub-indices derived from PMI data, PMI Comments Trackers and PMI Commodity Price & Supply Indicators compiled by S&P Global.

A value above 0 indicates that supply chain capacity is being stretched and supply chain volatility is increasing. The further above 0, the greater the extent to which capacity is being stretched.A value below 0 indicates that supply chain capacity is being underutilized, reducing supply chain volatility. The further below 0, the greater the extent to which capacity is being underutilized.

For more information about the methodology, click here.

About GEP
GEP® delivers AI-powered procurement and supply chain solutions that help global enterprises become more agile and resilient, operate more efficiently and effectively, gain competitive advantage, boost profitability and increase shareholder value. Fresh thinking, innovative products, unrivaled domain expertise, smart, passionate people — this is how GEP SOFTWARE™, GEP STRATEGY™ and GEP MANAGED SERVICES™ together deliver procurement and supply chain solutions of unprecedented scale, power and effectiveness. Headquartered in Clark, New Jersey, GEP has offices and operations centers across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. To learn more, visit www.gep.com.

About S&P Global
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) S&P Global provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world. We are widely sought after by many of the world’s leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world’s leading organizations plan for tomorrow, today.

Media Contacts

Derek Creevey
GEP
Phone: +1 646-276-4579
Email:
derek.creevey@gep.com

Joe Hayes
Principal Economist
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Phone: +44-1344-328-099
Email:
Press.mi@spglobal.com

S&P Global Market Intelligence
Email: joe.hayes@spglobal.com

 

 

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Driving Certainty Through Uncertainty: eclicktech’s Engineering Approach to Agentic AI

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XI’AN, China, May 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As generative AI moves from experimentation to enterprise deployment, the industry focus is shifting from model capability to operational reliability. The challenge is no longer simply building smarter AI, but ensuring AI systems can operate safely and consistently inside complex production environments.

eclicktech recently shared its internal engineering practices around Agentic AI, highlighting how the company is applying context engineering, multi-cloud infrastructure, and layered security frameworks to support enterprise-scale AI deployment.

To support global operations across more than 230 countries and regions, eclicktech built its Cycor platform around a multi-cloud architecture integrating AWS, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Huawei Cloud, and other providers. According to the company, this approach improves infrastructure flexibility, reduces vendor lock-in risk, and enables more efficient orchestration of large-scale Kubernetes clusters and AI workloads.

eclicktech stated that one of the key lessons from early Agent development was that prompt engineering alone was insufficient for enterprise deployment. The company therefore shifted toward context engineering — an approach focused on delivering the right information, at the right time, while optimizing limited token resources.

Its engineering framework includes six layers of context management covering active sessions, short-term memory, long-term semantic storage, knowledge graphs, operational experience, and reusable organizational skills. The system also supports proactive context injection, allowing relevant operational history and risk information to be surfaced automatically before sensitive actions are executed.

To improve inference efficiency, eclicktech introduced layered token governance and progressive tool-loading mechanisms, dynamically loading tools and information only when required. The company said this approach helped improve tool selection accuracy and reduce unnecessary token consumption during complex operational workflows.

Security remains a core requirement throughout the architecture. eclicktech’s governance framework includes namespace isolation, dry-run verification, human approval workflows, rule-based validation, and rollback mechanisms designed to reduce operational risks associated with AI-driven automation.

According to eclicktech, the next stage of enterprise AI competition will depend not only on model capability, but also on engineering reliability, infrastructure orchestration, context management, and organizational knowledge systems.

Note: Certain technical information referenced in this article is derived from eclicktech’s internal engineering practices and is provided for industry reference purposes only.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/driving-certainty-through-uncertainty-eclicktechs-engineering-approach-to-agentic-ai-302767441.html

SOURCE eclicktech

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How a Unified Monetization Solution Is Driving eCPM and Revenue Growth for Casual Games Worldwide

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SINGAPORE, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Casual, hyper-casual, and hybrid-casual games have become dominant categories in the global mobile market, making in-app advertising (IAA) a key driver of monetization success. However, many developers continue to face major challenges, including unstable fill rates, fluctuating eCPMs, difficulties balancing multiple regional markets, and the ongoing tradeoff between user experience and revenue growth.

To address these issues, zMaticoo has compiled a series of monetization case studies from leading game publishers and studios across China, Vietnam, Europe, and North America. These teams span hyper-casual, puzzle, board, card, and light-casual game categories, with DAUs ranging from millions to tens of millions. By adopting the same monetization framework, they achieved simultaneous growth in fill rate, eCPM, and ad revenue while maintaining stable user experience.

A common challenge among these teams was the shrinking monetization margin across global markets, creating an urgent need for sustainable revenue growth. At the same time, developers were cautious about over-monetization negatively impacting retention and player engagement.

To solve these challenges, zMaticoo introduced an AI-driven monetization system with full-funnel optimization capabilities. The platform connects developers directly to premium global advertiser budgets across both performance and brand advertising. AI models identify high-value traffic in real time based on region, audience, and usage scenarios, prioritizing high-eCPM demand sources. Separate bidding strategies are applied for mature and emerging markets to avoid revenue loss caused by one-size-fits-all pricing models.

The platform also provides refined ad format optimization:

Banner Ads: optimized display share and loading timing to improve SOV and stabilize eCPM;Interstitial Ads: precisely triggered during high-value moments such as level completion or pause screens, with especially strong premiums in emerging markets;Rewarded Video: deeply integrated into gameplay loops, delivering high user acceptance and conversion performance.

On the technical side, zMaticoo optimized SDK infrastructure to improve fill stability under weak network conditions. Ad loading time was reduced from five seconds to under two seconds through a rebuilt loading architecture. Progressive asset loading further minimized timeout-related drop-offs. AI-powered ad templates dynamically generated personalized creatives, improving both CTR and conversion performance.

The zMaticoo team also provides one-stop operational and analytics support. Developers can monitor fill rate, impressions, eCPM, and revenue through a unified dashboard, while dedicated optimization specialists provide 7×12 support for A/B testing, strategy iteration, and scaling guidance. The platform is deeply integrated with major mediation solutions, enabling one-time integration and multi-scenario deployment while reducing development and maintenance costs.

According to zMaticoo platform data:

In mature markets including the United States, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, banner eCPMs increased by 5%–10%, while interstitial premiums improved by over 5%;In emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, and Southeast Asia, interstitial eCPMs increased by more than 10%.

The monetization framework has demonstrated effectiveness across hyper-casual, puzzle, board/card, and utility app categories, supporting both rapid scale-up and long-term monetization stability.

Partner feedback includes:

“We are highly satisfied with the revenue uplift after integration. Our core products’ banner performance now ranks among the top tier.””Revenue recovered significantly after A/B testing, and we are expanding testing across more products.””One solution now supports multiple global markets without requiring separate monetization strategies for each region.””Interstitial monetization performance has been especially strong, with SOV reaching 10%–20% for several partners.”

zMaticoo believes successful monetization today is not about stacking more ad platforms, but about leveraging AI, technology, and refined operations to unlock long-term traffic value. Whether for hyper-casual publishers, puzzle game studios, or global mobile app companies, this AI-powered monetization framework is designed to deliver sustainable revenue growth while preserving user experience.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/how-a-unified-monetization-solution-is-driving-ecpm-and-revenue-growth-for-casual-games-worldwide-302767432.html

SOURCE zMaticoo

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Fox ESS Celebrates Strong Momentum with Integrated Solar Storage & Charging Solutions at Smart Energy 2026

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SYDNEY, May 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fox ESS, a global leader in renewable energy solutions, attended Smart Energy 2026 during 6-7 May as a platinum sponsor. At the event, Fox ESS showcased its next-generation approach to solar storage and EV charging solution, delivering a seamless, future-ready energy experience for homeowners and installers across Australia.

Integrated Solutions Tailored for Aussie Homes

At Smart Energy 2026, Fox ESS highlighted its storage-to-charging solution, designed to make everyday energy use more convenient for local residents. With performance-led products and proven market traction, Fox ESS is set to play its part in building a more resilient energy future for Australia.

Battery Systems

Fox ESS continues to build momentum in the battery market. Sunwiz, an Australian solar consultancy, recently reported that Fox ESS ranked No.1 in March for installation capacity. And the company also revealed it has installed more than 25,000 systems in April. During the exhibition, Sunwiz presented Fox ESS with an award, recognising the company as Top Solar Company for Fastest Growing Battery.

CQ7 V6+ High Voltage Battery (42kWh and above)
Building on Fox ESS’ proven strengths, compact design and high capacity, CQ7 V6+ is well suited to medium-sized households and ensure the free use of electricity and maximize the self-consumption.EQ4800 High Voltage Battery (28kWh)
A reliable choice for smaller households, designed for efficient day-to-day energy storage.

Alongside its battery range, Fox ESS showcased all-in-one systems, including Stackable AIO and EVO, designed to simplify installation while maintaining a high standard of design and presentation.

Inverters

Fox ESS offers a range of inverters to suit local requirements, supported by up to 200% PV oversizing and a 10-year product warranty.

Single-phase: H1‑G2 (3–6kW); KH series (7–10.5kW)Three-phase: H3 Smart (5–15kW); H3 Pro (15–29.9kW); H3 Plus (50–125kW)

EV Chargers

With EV adoption accelerating, Fox ESS also offers EV charging solutions with solar linkage, designed to work across its inverter portfolio. The chargers provide robust, smart energy management, including dynamic load balancing to help protect home circuits.

A Series (7.3kW / 11kW / 22kW): IP65 and IK08 protection, OCPP-compliant.L Series (7.3kW / 11kW): straightforward installation with multiple colour options.

Big Battery Still Takes Centre Stage

As the Cheaper Home Battery Program moves into a new phase under an updated rebate policy, interest in larger battery systems continues to grow, particularly as more households consider EV upgrades amid rising fuel costs. More EVs typically mean households need greater energy availability, making higher-capacity storage an increasingly attractive option.

Looking ahead, from 1 July 2026, the Australian Government’s Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) will provide eligible households with three hours of free daily electricity to align with peak solar generation. Households with larger batteries will be well placed to make the most of this opportunity.

Fox ESS is also working with local VPP partners, including Amber Electric and Origin Loop VPP, helping homeowners unlock maximum value while supporting greater grid stability.

Maimai Comes Alive at the Exhibition

Visitors to the Fox ESS stand experienced a full programme of brand activations across the event. Following the online announcement, Sydney served as Maimai’s first physical stop, bringing the community together for face-to-face engagement. Attendees queued to take photos with the brand’s friendly and recognisable mascot.

Long-Term Commitment to Australia

Fox ESS has opened two local offices in Melbourne and Sydney, with more than 30 dedicated specialists supporting local customer needs. The company is also looking to play a wider role in Australia’s energy transition.

Notably, Ian Thorpe made his first in-person appearance at Fox Night, where he presented partners with awards. At the event party, Fox ESS also hosted a battery installation challenge, featuring eight rounds of competition, with the final winners receiving a range of prizes.

“We’re delighted to see such a strong result following the rollout of local policy. With nearly 400,000 Australian households now installing batteries, Fox ESS has played a key role, but this is only the beginning. We’re committed to keeping momentum and helping make a smarter, more reliable energy future a reality for more homes.” said Brooks Richard Geng, APAC & Middle East Managing Director, Fox ESS.

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SOURCE Fox ESS

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