Supply chain leaders are expected to increase investment in technologies over the next two years, but they must prioritize what they want to implement, says Carly West, senior director analyst at Gartner.

Notwithstanding concerns about inflation, chief financial officers, boards of directors, CEOs and chief supply chain officers seem to be of one mind, West says: The top objectives for this year and next are technology innovation and prioritization.

So where do they want their money to go? “The goal we're seeing is investing in new business models, gaining competitive advantages, optimizing their processes and their people,” West says. “We're seeing this intersection between people and machines, using things like AI, next-generation humanoid robots  and systems. We're seeing this massive intersection where people are investing in technology or machines to enable the humans more.”

As an example, once a warehouse management system drops an order to the order management system, robots, with picking instructions on their iPads, take a bin to the picking location. Employees fill the bin, which is then off to the pack location. “It saves a lot of time for the people walking around the warehouse,” West says. “It's not replacing humans; it's just enabling them to work faster and better.”

In addition, it’s becoming more common to see drones counting inventory in warehouses and distribution centers, she says.

Additional investment is going into protecting data. West says data invasion and cyber extortion are rampant. “The impact is huge. We're seeing a real interest in enabling technology, but also a real crackdown in keeping it safe.”

She says 66% of businesses say they have experienced cyber attacks, with more than 80% claiming to have suffered significant revenue loss. “Typically, if you have $5 billion in revenue, it costs you $5 million in recovery.”

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