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Disruptive technologies are helping leading manufacturers to boost productivity, attract and engage new consumers, inspire new market strategies and drive substantial business growth. Here's our pick of disruptive technologies to watch:

Drones: Deutsche Post, the world's biggest courier company, is using a drone to deliver medication to a remote German island. It’s been such a success the company is considering using the “parcelcopter” to make more regular deliveries.

‘Mobile-geddon’: mobile devices are making waves in the business world: think service delivery, worker productivity and customer experience.

Distributed manufacturing: is where the final product is manufactured near the final customer, so the raw materials, assembly and product fabrication are decentralised, potentially increasing customisation.

Advanced robotics: including human-machine collaboration.

Emergent Artificial Intelligence: is where machines can learn automatically by taking on large volumes of information; it has huge implications for productivity.

Self-driving vehicles: that could potentially move or distribute goods.

Internet of Things: has massive potential for business process optimisation, reduced downtime and waste, and increased quality overall.

Find out more about these disruptive technologies by reading the full story here.

Food & Drink Business

More than 80 distillers from across New South Wales and the ACT will meet in Sydney on 25 November for the inaugural NSW & ACT Distillers Conference, where the industry will formally launch Spirits NSW.

The federal government has announced the inaugural members of the National Food Council, the first step in developing its national food security strategy, Feeding Australia. The council includes representatives from across the food system and will play an advisory role to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry minister.

Queensland foodservice wholesaler Prime Cut Meats has been acquired by Andrews Meat Industries (AMI), the family-managed business that forms part of JBS Australia. The move expands AMI’s protein supply capabilities in Queensland and northern New South Wales.