siliconindia | | December 20189No one technology will win, but instead the most cost efficient, successful supply chains will deploy a complex web of interconnected solutionschain can interact with one another to form a seamless and communicative process where employees and ma-chines work to accomplish the same goals, and data is gathered through-out both modes and then analyzed and applied to make supply chains--and most importantly, the business--more efficient moving forward.Manage TransformationEvolving from a disparate supply chain to a fully functioning, digital and physical value chain does require work--and in many organizations, it will demand sizable transforma-tion. Fortunately, executives appear ready for the change. Forbes contrib-utor Gil Press suggests that as early as next year, 67 percent of CEOs of Global 2000 enterprises will have digital transformation at the center of their corporate strategy.This will mean that as IT leader-ship, you will have to have a seat at the table and will play a critical role in leading the future of the compa-ny. It will be your responsibility to cut through the clutter of technology buzzwords and instead focus on what all of the innovations really mean for the business.For example, understanding that cloud provides considerable flexi-bility and a more scalable environ-ment is hugely important for those of us in IT, but the business team will just want to know how it supports broader objectives.Managing digital transformation will require an in-depth understand-ing of those business objectives, a thoughtful approach to identifying how emerging technologies can truly help at reaching them, and ultimately, a tactical plan to execute. Consider, for example:· IoT--Embracing the IoT for tasks such as machine-driven replen-ishment and service and performance monitoring.· Automation--Integrating bots and corresponding apps into op-erational workflows, taking care of everything from order entry to line-side replenishment.· Robotics--Using smaller, more nimble machines to perform multiple tasks and work alongside humans, aiding in productivity.· Artificial Intelligence--Apply-ing it in the way you ship and deliver products, predicting demand and de-vice failures as well as learning what customers want and need.· Big Data--Working to cap-ture their existing data and make it actionable and productive across operations.At ModusLink, we are constantly assessing these and other new tech-nology solutions and helping our cli-ents determine where they can lever-age them to bridge gaps that exist in their supply chains, whether it is de-ploying a new e-Commerce platform to help a startup quickly and easily expand into a new region or country; automating sorting in a distribution facility so packages arrive in custom-ers' hands faster; or helping a mul-tinational B2B tech company gain greater control over its millions of software licenses currently in market.Cast Out One-off SolutionsIt can be tempting to look for quick fixes to supply chain challenges--and there is no shortage of technol-ogies and vendors that claim to solve problems in such a manner. Building a solution internally often seems like a quick fix, but over total lifetime the cost to manage, develop and support it often massively outweighs the low-er sticker price. With so much change on the horizon, it is critical to take a long-term view of any technolo-gy strategy. This is because no one technology will win, but instead the most cost efficient, successful supply chains will deploy a complex web of interconnected solutions.For some companies, this could be as innovative as considering how, for example, their entire customer ex-perience will be transformed as IoT connectivity can enable smoother or-der replenishment and lessen service calls. For others, and in the case of many of our clients, it could be as practical as leveraging a single global instance of SAP surrounded by best-of-breed systems to run highly effi-cient, operational processes that sig-nificantly reduce costs.The many technology chang-es impacting our industry don't come without certain challenges. But, as technologists who under-stand it all best, we're in a unique position to see it for what it really presents: opportunity.
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