My APICS Inland Empire chapter hosted our 11th executive panel and networking symposium on leveraging technology for supply chain success. We had interesting discussions with top notch panelists spanning the end-to-end supply chain from Disney to OceanX with diverse topics such as autonomous vehicles and machine learning – thanks to Terrie Dean, Craig Young, Stephen Richie, Thomas Jelenic and Matt Weinberg . The event was a complete success thanks in large part to our Board of Directors (pictured below) – Valerie Ladd, Kevin Manning, Lisa Anderson, Parizad Sethna, Phil Elhai, Pamela Scrivner , Tony Martinez, Kate Loin-Barron, and Helen Arambulo.
It is compelling to think about the BIG impact technology is having on manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and more. Robots are taking over several aspects of manufacturing and distribution to speed up the process and to reduce cost so that we can be more competitive and successful in Southern California. Have you thought about what this could mean to our economy? Machine learning and artificial intelligence is also prevalent. What could we accomplish by having the “right” data at the “right” time in the “right” place? The down-the-line impacts of the strategic use of data are staggering.
What Should We Consider and/or What Impacts Could Arise?
Leveraging technology for supply chain success is a vast topic and so it makes sense to start by absorbing the relevance and importance of the topic. Our most successful clients are constantly looking for ways to leverage technology to not only deliver products and services more quickly (think the Amazon effect) but also to remain viable from a cost perspective. Have you thought about the value that can be gained by IoT? The internet of things can capture data so that repair folks can be ahead of the game, parts can be available much more quickly, items can talk to one another (such as cars to traffic lights) and much more.
The least we should do is be aware of the dramatic impacts technology could have on our businesses and to our customer experience. Have you considered how to utilize technology to stand out from the crowd and deliver exceptional service so that your customers don’t even think of buying from anyone other than you? Can you utilize data to better understand their needs? Can you use technology to provide additional value? What else could you do? Gather your team and brainstorm. Involve your customers in the conversation as well. Let me know how it goes.
November 9, 2017