FREMONT, CA: Age of digitalization is in the zenith. Operations of all kinds are transforming to digitization. Supply chain is no untouched as organizations seem to stride towards embracing technologies that could automate the same and transform it in the digital supply chain. It also seems the need of the hour to upgrade the supply chain for better and agile workflow. The major trends that are supporting the transformation are big data, computing, and robotics.
Big Data: Data has become ubiquitous and important for upgrading the efficiency of all kinds of process. The analytical insights gained from the data allow firms to detect and overcome the current flaws or implement new strategies to enhance the workflow. Big data technology backs the analysis of enormous structured and unstructured data which leads to formation of the digital supply chain.
Advanced Computing: To meet the needs of analysis computing powers have upgraded themselves with big data, Artificial Intelligence, and HCI that leverage organizations to run complex and lengthy algorithms for analytics. Computing architectures such as cloud computing have data storage, retrieval, analysis, and sharing faster and cheaper with higher reliability.
Robotics: In a combination of advanced hardware and software, robotics plays an important role in digitization of supply chain as the drive the automation of manual and transactional processes. Robotic process automation is leading the path of automation in various warehouses with high efficiency in the least consumable time.
Digitization of the supply chain will benefit industries with various features that will revolutionize the operational methods.
• Agility and Flexibility: New approaches to product distribution will bring agility in the supply chain. Technologies like IoT and drones have already started to make efforts in the same direction by real-time tracking, predictive delivery, and remote location delivery. Not just agility but also flexibility will get injected breaking the geographical barriers to meet customer demands of faster deliveries.
• More Granular: Increasing demands of customers for individualized products is giving a strong push to micro-segmentation and mass customization. With digital supply chain, such ideas will come to existence allowing customers to choose from multiple logistics menu of their desire.
• Accuracy and Efficiency: Technologies like IoT, blockchain, and robotics continuously stride towards increasing the efficiency of the process entailed. Similar, results will be obtained in warehouse management and liver tracking for the digital supply chain.
