• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Q&A | A 'Revolution' Is Coming to Supply-Chain Technology
Video

Q&A | A 'Revolution' Is Coming to Supply-Chain Technology

July 19, 2019
SupplyChainBrain

A revolution in supply-chain technology is "on the horizon," says Paul Blake, director of technology marketing with GEP. He explains the nature of that change, and what's driving it.

SCB: What is driving the need for new supply-chain technology?

Blake: It’s about changing circumstances for large, complex businesses. What they're seeing across the supply chain is increasing volatility and uncertainty. Factors that have always affected supply chains are being more keenly felt. Political, social, environmental and market changes are having much more of an immediate effect, with deeper impact. Our customers are looking for new ways to get ahead of the game, gain competitive edge, and assert better control over their supply chains, so that they can react more efficiently in these changing times.

SCB: What types of supply-chain technology are available right now to address these needs?

Blake: Fundamentally, it's all about data. The existing technologies that our customers have to rely on are largely around legacy systems, enterprise resource planning and the like. There’s a lot of disconnection between systems, functions and business units. Supply-chain operations are siloed. There’s a great opportunity for driving value, if you can apply all of this data and intelligence to a control tower, which gives you command and control over the whole supply chain. What we're seeing is a new paradigm, using artificial intelligence as a means of accessing huge volumes of data in real time.

The AI part isn’t particularly new. Some of the algorithms and machine-learning code are decades old. What’s changed in recent times is access to vast volumes of data, in a “data lake” model, along with the computing power to run those algorithms many of millions of times in various iterations. You’re able to create a digital twin of operations, and achieve new levels of visibility and command and control.

SCB: How mature are these AI systems, in being able to output the necessary decisions that will actually work in the organization? Do they still have a ways to go?

Blake: Absolutely. It's important to stress that core AI capabilities are fairly mature. What’s new and takes time to come into maturity is how you combine vast volumes of data with those AI algorithms, and package them in such a way that an organization can effectively access all of the intelligence that’s produced. That’s the piece that doesn't exist today, and it’s what we're seeing as the next step in supply-chain technology evolution.

SCB: What about ensuring “clean” data? Does the AI engine make that determination before it even starts to manipulate the data?

Blake: Yes, to a certain extent. There’s a stratification of the model, with the data at the bottom, and the data lake being the fundament of what you're working on. Then there's a layer of intelligence that sits over that and has to interpret the data. Some of that intelligence is artificial, but a good percentage has to be human as well. There has to be an understanding of whether the output from the AI is meaningful.

SCB: We have to determine whether the output from the AI system is predictive or prescriptive. I would think the latter is a lot more rare.

Blake: It certainly is today. We see it as an evolutionary path. The first step is to get some kind of predictive model that you know can be trusted. Is that prediction of demand for your product correct? As the algorithms become more enriched with internal and external data, those predictions become more accurate. Only then can you take the next step to prescription.

SCB: Is the system capable of explaining its conclusions, or is it a black box that just spits out results, and you have to trust them over time?

Blake: It’s very hard. A lot depends on how you create the visualization layer, the app layer on top of the intelligence. As I said, there's a stratification of data, intelligence, and the app. A lot of the skill in software development for the future will be in creating the user-experience layer.

SCB: You’ve said there's a revolution in supply chain technology on the horizon — meaning it’s not here yet?

Blake: For some organizations that we’re working with right now, we're seeing some immediate opportunities coming to fruition. For others with a heavy, embedded legacy of existing systems, or a lot of political and organizational inertia, it’s going to take time before they can take advantage of this technology. But certainly right now, we say to our customers, "If you give us a lot of data and a little time, we can show you some incredible results."

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain) Cloud & On-Demand Systems Inventory Planning/ Optimization Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Artificial Intelligence Business Strategy Alignment Quality & Metrics
KEYWORDS artificial intelligence Data Management (Big Data/IOT/Blockchain) SC Planning & Optimization
  • Related Articles

    Q&A | A New Approach to Acquiring Supply-Chain Technology

    Q&A | Embarking on a Journey to the Digital Supply Chain

    Q&A | Supply-Chain Technology: On the Verge of an 'Inflection Point'

SupplyChainBrain

Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • GSCMS-Promo.png

    Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

    Education & Professional Development
  • A HAND TURNS A LARGE, LIGHTED DIAL WITH THE WORD RISK ON IT iStock-NicoElNino-1364371014.jpg

    Measuring KPIs and KRIs for Comprehensive Supplier Performance Management

    Technology
  • DEEPLY CRACKED EARTH UNDER A BLUE CLOUDY SKY

    Why Maritime Supply Chains Must Adapt to Sustainability Regulations

    Ocean Transportation

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing