News & Views

January 29, 2009 from Supply Chain Digest – “One of the most compelling presentations I heard in 2008 was by former government official, now a futurist of sorts, Jack Uldrich, who was the luncheon speaker on the final day at the CSCMP conference in Denver last October.

The presentation was on how rapidly many areas of technology are advancing, often still below the radar for most of us, and the wide ranging impacts these changes will have on our lives, our supply chains and our businesses. It was fascinating – and scary (in a good sort of way)…”

180 View (written by Lawrence Young) – This article provides some interesting insight on how emerging technologies will help distributors and manufacturers realize operational improvements in both internal processes and throughout the supply chain.

The continual increase in computing power at a lower cost will certainly continue to spawn the development of applications software that would have otherwise been too costly for most companies to deploy. For example, the article states that “This kind of affordable computing power, for example, now enables one retailer to complete a complex, store-level, replenishment optimization run in just a handful of seconds, a process that used to take almost a full shift in the past.”

Over the past few years, it is this affordable raw computing power that has enabled many of my clients to benefit from software tools such as Business Intelligence, Executive Dashboards of Key Performance Indicators, and Advanced Planning Tools for applications such as material procurement and production planning.

The fact is that applications which would have required computing power that only Fortune 500 companies could afford a decade ago are now available to companies of all sizes that recognize the significant benefits of deploying these new tools and business processes.

But caution is required before merely jumping on any new technology bandwagon. As one reader who provided feedback to this article stated: “All too often companies get seduced by the technology ’silver bullet’ that will solve all of their supply chain problems. Unfortunately supply chains are more complicated than that. The solution to the problem, whatever it may be, will invariably require investment in people, process change and physical infrastructure as well as technology. Beware of any technology vendor that says otherwise!

So what to do? As the article concludes: “be vigilantly aware of these technologies, and understand the threats and opportunities they provide”. And consider engaging an independent and objective subject matter expert who can help you deploy the right technology at the right time in a cost-effective manner.