Disruptive Warehouse Technologies for Any Company!

No matter how big or small your operation and your company is you likely have the same disruptive pressures on your Warehouses and Distribution Centres.

Everyone, including  those who are best in class,  has the need to reduce costs, improve the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment and warehouse activities, optimize inventory, and provide sufficient capacity to support growth at your busiest times of the year.

The ability to leverage technology to help address those pressures is no longer just possible for large companies.  The nature of the technology landscape brings those improvements within the reach of most everyone.

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Cyber Security and the Digital Supply Chain!

When it comes to the modern supply chain managers have a relatively new risk to consider:  Cyber Security!

As major logistics providers from all around the world struggle with keeping their private data secure, businesses are investing time and resources to address this serious concern. From shutting down major ports to the risk of losing private client data, the time is now to address Cyber Security in the supply chain.

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The 5 Big Benefits of the Digital Supply Chain!

What’s the core difference between today’s supply chain and benefits of the digital supply chain?

Look down at your desk. What do you see? If you see paper, pen, and a computer, you see the typical, modern supply chain.   If asked, could you provide the latest information on your current automation, key performance indicators, data, use of IT applications, and finance government?

The chances are good that much of this information is stored digitally. However, you would probably need to look through some of the physical, tactile paperwork to find all of the information.   Also, is the information stored only your computer or a server? Now, how long is that going to take you?

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Our 2017 Top 10 List! – Part 2

It’s been a tremendous first year at  supplychaingamechanger.com.  Our goal has always been to share experiences and expertise.  And in the second half of 2017 we had an ever increasing number of articles contributed by industry leaders all of whom have been very generous in sharing their intellect and insights.  This is our second 2017 Top 10 List.

Our readers and contributors come from all over the world.  They include individuals new to Supply Chain as well as Industry leaders and everyone in between.   And they work in many different industries and vocations.   But they all have a common interest in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Leadership, Change Management, Human Resources, Transformation,  and Technology.

Most importantly they all have an interest in learning and sharing.

As we end this first year we wanted to publish our 2nd Top 10 List.  Our first Top 10 List covered the Top blog posts from the first half of 2017 so our 2nd Top 10 List will cover the second half of 2017.

Thank you for your tremendous, ongoing support.  

So here is our 2nd Top 10 List of 2017…

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5 Seismic Shifts in Supply Chain Technology!

Supply chain technology is seeing seismic shifts and changing rapidly as new, innovative solution providers leave traditional legacy players behind.  

Tremors. Seismic shifts. In supply chain management technology there is a fault line separating new, innovative technology providers and traditional supply chain software providers, and the gap between them is growing.

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You are Connected Everywhere! Why isn’t your Supply Chain Connected?

Have you ever tried to drive in a blinding snowstorm or when the rain or fog is so thick that you can’t see in front of your car?  It’s not possible!  And it’s risky to even try!

So why is it that the Supply Chain in so many companies is being run without the end to end visibility needed to even function, yet which we have in our personal lives?

In this age of exponential growth in digital connectivity the time has come to ensure you have End to End Supply Chain visibility.  If you carry a Smartphone you can be tracked anywhere.  So why don’t you apply this technology to your Supply Chain?

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Examining Future Industry Innovations!

Consumer demand is rising in just about every conceivable industry. Customers want their products better, faster, and stronger; and as they adopt this mantra of “more, more, more”, companies have to keep up. In order to do that, they would have to make some drastic improvements or outright changes in the way they do business through industry innovations – particularly in the supply chain.

Just as advances in Internet-based platforms are improving the way people connect, communicate, and consume, advances in telecommunications, automation, robotics, and information technology are giving industries more power to control, oversee, and optimise their businesses to meet ever-growing demand.

It is no surprise, then, that the latest technologies are the cornerstone of business innovations for the foreseeable future. In this article, we will be taking a look at some of these innovations that are trending among companies and seeing how newer businesses can integrate them into their systems.

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The Digital Supply Chain Infographic!

Supply Chain 4.0 is the manifestation of the Digital Supply Chain of the future as enabled by many of the Disruptive Technologies that we all hear about every day. Here we review our Digital Supply Chain infographic.

Everyone is impacted by the advancement of technology in both their personal and professional lives.  And that impact will only become more profound as time goes on.

The Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Cloud Computing, Blockchain, Robotics, Big Data, Advanced Analytics and more are terms represent the technological breakthroughs that are being made every day.

For those involved in Supply Chain there are deep impacts that are occurring, and that will continue enabled by the evolutionary and revolutionary change that is enabled by technology. Let’s look at the Digital Supply Chain infographic.

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Augmented Reality (AR) is the Future of Supply Chain!

Augmented Reality (AR) enables transformational change!

When I started in the distribution space, I was told “…business is simple…cases in, cases out.” Reports were on green bar paper and forklifts were everywhere. As the distribution space evolved, the reports became spreadsheets and forklifts remained very important as they are coupled with the latest and greatest automation.

Supply chain improvements over the last 15 years have been incremental at best. The advances we are making in the supply chain powered by Augmented Reality (AR) are going to be wildly disruptive. The supply chain community that leans into AR and gets it right will come out the clear winners for every perspective: simplicity, safety, quality and productivity.

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Automation ROI, Tools and Productivity!

Automation has many benefits including Automation ROI. Among the advantages are these: It frees up employees from performing manual or repetitive tasks and allows them to focus on tasks that require more thinking and analysis. It increases productivity and the quality of products. It speeds up the time to do the job, facilitating business growth.  

Are there drawbacks to automation? Yes, of course, the main one being financial. Automation and robotic equipment and the software required to run them are pricey.

However, investing in automation results in a payback after a certain amount of time has passed, and this occurs at the point at which increased productivity and sale revenue outweigh the combined capital and labor costs.  

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The Supply Chain Control Tower! An Assessment!

The concept of the “control tower” is increasingly becoming widespread in  Supply Chain Management, and Control Tower technologies are a popular topic right within the supply chain community. Every research firm and vendor has their own definition, but all share the common theme of visibility.

A supply chain control tower system is an attempt to make the outside supply chain environment visible to the enterprise, with “end-to-end” visibility being the Holy Grail.

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Digital Supply Chain Overview! (Video)

Here we provide the Digital Supply Chain Overview video for you.  Supply Chain 4.0 is the manifestation of the Digital Supply Chain as enabled by the proliferation of Disruptive Technologies that are permeating every aspect of our lives.

The Digital Supply Chain Overview video, created and published at Supply Chain Game Changer, is focused on the Digital Supply Chain, or otherwise called Supply Chain 4.0, because of its profound impact in defining the Supply Chain of the Future!

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Collaborative Robots: Making Manufacturing Jobs More Valuable

First, a “Prime Objective” of the Shasta EDC is job growth in the manufacturing and technology sectors, including the use of collaborative robots. This is our key focus. However, the recruitment, retention, and expansion of our companies is equally important.

There is obviously a symbiotic relationship between employer and employees. However, from time to time there are talent gaps that emerge and technologies that force us to rethink our approaches to business.

Data shows that the number of manufacturing jobs are declining, and the jobs that remain are shifting to a mixture of the traditional and tribal knowledge around manufacturing and a blend of technical knowledge that helps to augment current manufacturing with the practical application of emerging technologies.

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The Control Tower – Is Yours Real or Smoke and Mirrors?

The advancement of digital technology enables the real-time, intelligent management of the Supply Chain.  This now means you need a Control Tower.

But any company’s Supply Chain can still involve tens of thousands of skus, thousands of bills of material, thousands of suppliers, hundreds of transportation vendors, dozens of manufacturing facilities and distribution centres, and numerous customers.

So even if you have a Digital Supply Chain how do you manage this complexity?  The answer is that you need a Control Tower!

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Industry 4.0 – Smart Manufacturing of the Future! (Infographic)

Since the term Industry 4.0 was first coined by the German government in 2011 it has steadily gathered pace and interest from companies across all industries.  This infographic from 2Flow takes you through how much it has grown and how much it is expected to grow in the years to come.

Industry 4.0 is a far cry from what has come before it and data analytics is at the heart of it.  In all supply chains, companies are always looking for ways to make it more efficient and digitization is more often than not the answer – which makes Industry 4.0 the answer.

So what can Industry 4.0 accomplish?

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