What’s Important in Technology?

It is quite telling that every executive panelist on the “Professional Pathways in Supply Chain” panel at the Drucker Supply Chain Forum (Walt Disney Company, Source Intelligence, Intelligent Audit and LMA Consulting Group) had a significant focus on technology.  Supply chain and technology go hand-in-hand.  Thus, what should we be thinking about when it comes to technology?

Although many technology topics arose, let’s focus in on three of the ones that pop to mind first:

1.  Business intelligence – Every panelist agreed on the importance of business intelligence.  In essence, how do you leverage data to see trends, make decisions etc.?  For example, Intelligent Audit is almost exclusively focused on capturing and using freight data.  Transportation can be vital to service, cost and much more. Source Intelligence connects you to your supply chain – they offer a data collection and compliance solution.  Certainly, this is all about business intelligence as well.  Lastly, similarly, every one of my ERP selection clients has business intelligence as a top priority.  Do you?
2.  Cyber security – Not surprisingly, every panelist concurred on the critical nature of cyber security.  You don’t even have to attend a special event to figure this out. If you read the news, you should be sufficiently concerned about security.
3. Strategic use of data – Somewhat closely aligned with business intelligence yet broader in concept, the strategic use of data is becoming a hot topic.  Imagine how much data the Walt Disney Company has in its archives and what you can do with such a goldmine.  This topic is especially related to supply chain if you think about the data connecting your supply chain.  Again, since Source Intelligence helps you connect to your supply chain, they are in the business of the strategic use of data.  Are you considering how you can capture supply chain data and better leverage it to elevate your business performance?