LEANSUPPLYCHAIN [ INSIGHT ] by Paul A. Myerson
Instructor, Management and Decision Sciences, Monmouth University and author of books on Lean and the Supply Chain for McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and ProductivityPress. 732-441-3879 | pmyerson@monmouth.edu Building The Smart Supply Chain
With more objects embedded with sensors, and better communication, decision-making and automation capabilities, traditional supply chains are becoming more intelligent. The new “smart” supply chain presents huge opportunities for reducing costs and improving efficiency.
3. Ecosystem. Navigate a complex partner ecosystem across the supply chain, accelerate digital transformation and enhance the digital core. The supply chain ecosystem refers to a network of interlinked companies— such as suppliers and distributors—that interact with each other, primarily complementing or supplying key components of the value propositions within their products or services. 4. Industry X.0. This term, coined by consultant Accenture, means to speed up operational ef ciency and enterprise- wide growth by reimagining the way products, services, and experiences get designed and built in the age of digital disruption. Think in terms of how products are designed and engineered, sourced and supplied, manufactured, serviced, returned, and renewed. 5. Sustainability. Become responsible by building sustainable value chains that positively impact business, society, and the planet. To meet customer expectations and be truly sustainable, organizations must ensure responsible business practices internally and across their entire value chain. By starting down this path now rather than waiting, the smart supply chain can help you manage day-to-day operations as well as handle global disruptions, visualize the full picture, and respond in real time. Isn’t that the “smart” thing to do? n
Relevant– agile and customer- centric, addressing demand changes cost-effectively. Resilient– preparing for, mitigating, and responding to disruptions of all scales. Sustainable– good for society and the planet, enhancing trust with all stakeholders. GET SMART So how can we make it happen? By concentrating on ve areas: 1. Arti cial Intelligence. Transform data-driven decision-making across the supply chain using arti cial intelligence, analytics, and intelligent automation. The most advanced companies understand that while cloud sets you up with next-level computing power and access to new kinds of data in the right quantity and quality, AI is the bridge to convert that data into business value. 2. Cloud. Change through custom cloud services and solutions that accelerate innovation, intelligence, and value across the supply chain.
Some refer to this concept as Supply Chain 4.0: the application of the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced robotics, and big data analytics (including arti cial intelligence). Place sensors in everything, create networks everywhere, automate anything, and analyze everything to signi cantly improve performance and customer satisfaction. Companies expect their supply chains to deliver more—to be responsive to demand and resilient to change, to optimize costs and do good for society. To achieve all this, supply chain leaders must reimagine their supply chains for tomorrow. FUTURE READY SUPPLY CHAINS Future-ready supply chains are intelligent, self-driving networks of growth. They’re built on a foundation of digital, data, and arti cial intelligence (AI) to provide visibility, agility, and new ways of working needed to create 360-degree value, enterprise-wide. These intelligent supply networks deliver across three key priorities:
70 Inbound Logistics • July 2022
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