If the vision of Industry 4.0 is to be realized, most enterprise processes - manufacturing, product development, customer relations, and the workplace itself - must become fully digitized. A critical element will be the arrival of the digital supply chain.
Analyst Insight: The impact of omnichannel fulfillment requirements and growth of e-commerce have altered the way companies plan and design distribution facilities. The plan and design processes themselves haven't changed as much as the number of variables that must be considered. Today's distribution facilities require greater flexibility to adapt rapidly to changing customer requirements. - Phil Quartel, senior director of operations design, Fortna Inc.
Analyst Insight: End-to-end supply-chain visibility is one of the top five pain points facing executives in modern global supply chains. It allows supply-chain trading partners to visualize, share, collaborate and manage every aspect of supply chain processes, from raw materials to end customers. While businesses put resources towards improving supply-chain visibility, they find it is difficult to attain without connection to a value network that fosters sharing among stakeholders and good, quality information. Simply put, for a business to sustain growth in the current volatile business environment, executives need end-to-end supply-chain visibility to gain insights into activities they don’t control. - Cindi Hane, vice president of product management, Elemica
Analyst Insight: For the past 13 years we've studied metrics used in DCs across the U.S. During that time we've shared benchmarking data, reporting how some of the best firms use metrics to improve performance. Yet, gaps still exist - and bridging them can lead to greater performance gains. For the past two years, we have been examining how companies are using metrics to align to the strategic objective. The results have been surprising! - Donnie Williams, assistant professor of logistics and supply chain management, Georgia State, and Karl Manrodt, professor of logistics and supply chain management, Georgia State
Analyst Insight: Visibility in the supply chain has long been a challenge that supply-chain managers have struggled with, especially when it relates to assets in motion. Fortunately, we now live in a world of constant connectivity, and with that the emergence of applications that enable true real-time visibility to assets or inventory in motion through the support of the Internet of Things (IoT). - John Santagate, research manager, IDC
Analyst Insight: Defining success for retailers today is pretty straightforward: Respond more rapidly and efficiently to customers' demands, at a price they are willing to pay, regardless of order platform or physical location of the products at the time of purchase. - Karl Manrodt, logistics and supply chain management professor, Georgia College and State University, and Mary Holcomb, supply chain management professor, University of Tennessee
Analyst Insight: The sharing economy has been disrupting and transforming industries, with companies like Uber disrupting the taxi industry and Airbnb disrupting the hospitality industry. Now, even the very mature space of warehousing is in the process of disruption as warehouse-sharing platforms emerge that are providing benefits to both shippers and facility owners. - John Santagate, research manager, IDC
Analyst Insight: The 9th Annual BCI/Zurich Supply Chain Resilience Report categorically said last year that ineffective management of supply chains is leaving organizations open to severe disruptions and large financial negative impacts. The report also states that almost 75 percent of companies have experienced one disruptive event and that many more experienced multiple risk events in 2016. Why? The report concludes that organizations are still not ensuring adequate supply-chain visibility upstream and downstream. - Gregory Schlegel, executive-in-residence, Center for Supply Chain Research, Lehigh University
Analyst Insight: Third-party logistics providers have traditionally been on the front line when it comes to developing pioneering technologies and services in the industry. Although some shippers are looking to manage their own transportation operations, partnering with a 3PL still offers many competitive advantages. - John Simonsen, vice president of corporate development, Yusen Logistics (Americas) Inc.
Analyst Insight: Today more than ever, logistics professionals are at the forefront of designing new transportation and distribution solutions to support ever-changing fulfillment requirements. In today's competitive B2B and B2C markets, logistics is feeling the pressure of responding to changing demand patterns, shorter lead times, and smaller orders. Responding to today's customer-driven demands requires much more agile solutions versus traditional logistics networks. - Valerie Bonebrake, senior vice president, Tompkins International
